Former President Donald Trump handily crushed Nikki Haley in 14 out of 15 Republican primaries on Super Tuesday, the exception being Vermont. While the day marked the end of Haley's campaign and gave a clear indication of who will ultimately take on President Joe Biden in the general election, the primaries also provided critical insights into the top issues animating voters.

Exit polls revealed that immigration was a top concern cited by Trump voters in Virginia and in other states.

Former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki and other MSNBC talking heads apparently found voters' concerns about the costly, deadly, and destabilizing influx of millions of illegal aliens into the nation to be amusing, once again evidencing the media's detachment from the stark realities gripping the nation.

Telling exit polls

Exit polls conducted by Edison Research for the National Election Pool in Virginia and North Carolina revealed that a plurality of Republican primary voters cited immigration as their top concern. Follow-up questions clarified what type of immigration was top of mind.

Overall, the Washington Post reported that roughly 4 in 10 Republican voters said immigration was their top issue in all three states.

In Virginia, 38% of Republican voters said immigration was their top concern. Within this camp, 78% voted for Trump. Immigration edged out the economy, which was cited as a top concern by 34% of voters. Only 11% of Republican respondents in Virginia suggested foreign policy was their top concern. Haley voters made up 74% of this cohort.

In North Carolina, 41% of Republican voters said immigration was their top concern. Within this camp, 84% voted for Trump. 33% said the economy was their top issue and 11% suggested abortion was the most pressing concern.

In California, concerns over the state of the economy surpassed concerns over immigration by 4 points, 43% to 39%.

When asked about what should be done about illegal aliens in the U.S., 61% of Republican respondents in Virginia, 63% in North Carolina, and 69% in California said they should be sent packing to the countries they came from.

Exit polls also found that 64% of voters trusted Trump more on border security than the Democratic incumbent, who has overseen the illegal entry of well over one million foreign nationals just in the last five months and several million more since taking office and halting construction of the border wall.

Telling mainstream mockery

Former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki, Joy Reid, and Rachel Maddow cackled Tuesday night over the dominant concern expressed in the polls.

"I mean, if you look at some of these exit polls — I mean, I live in Virginia — immigration was the number one issue," said Psaki.

Reid laughed and Maddow grinned at the civic reaction to the Biden administration's handling of the border crisis.

Maddow chimed in, saying, "Well, Virginia does have a border with West Virginia. Very contested area."

One panelist can be heard sarcastically saying off-screen, "Build the wall!"

— (@)

The MSNBC talking heads appear to have found Virginians' concerns over immigration laughable because respondents don't technically live in a border state, hence the remarks about Old Dominion's border with West Virginia.

However, immigration is hardly a crisis limited to those beleaguered communities along the southern border, thanks in part to the Biden administration's reported efforts to fly hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens to various cities across the country, such as Boston, New York City, and Chicago.

The problem of illegal immigration is not only at Virginians' doorstep — it has compromised their safety. Just prior to Psaki's latest bout of laughter, an illegal alien from Venezuela was charged in Virginia for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl. He reportedly stole into the nation on Sept. 2.

Democrats and their friends in the liberal media may continue to shrug off concerns over immigration, but they are increasingly in the minority.

A Monmouth University poll revealed last week that more than 8 in 10 Americans recognize illegal immigration as either a very serious (61%) or a somewhat serious (23%) problem.

Blaze News noted that when broken down by political affiliation, 66% of Republicans, 42% of independents, and 33% of Democrats told Monmouth pollsters in 2015 that illegal immigration was a very serious problem. Nine years later, those figures jumped to 91%, 58%, and 41%, respectively.

Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, stressed in a release, "Illegal immigration has taken center stage as a defining issue this presidential election year."

"Other Monmouth polling found this to be Biden's weakest policy area, including among his fellow Democrats," added Murray.

In other words, Psaki, Reid and Maddow might be given a reason to stop laughing on Nov. 5.

Republican Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio) was among the multitudes of critics who found the MSNBC panelists' remarks distasteful, calling them "gross."

"For these 'journalists' unchecked migration means cheaper servants," Vance wrote on X. "For most Americans, it means fentanyl in your communities, lower wages, and stressed public services. It means Laken Riley should be alive but isn't. #SayHerName."

Trump advisor Stephen Miller, the head of America First Legal, noted, "About 1 in 8 Virginia residents was born in a foreign country. 1 in 4 very young people in Virginia has a foreign-born parent. In Fairfax County Public Schools, as one example, roughly 20% of students struggle speaking English. Migration has completely reshaped Virginia."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!