Jen Psaki, Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid mock Virginia GOP voters for saying immigration is top concern

Exit polls conducted during the Virginia primary election revealed that immigration was the number one issue for Republican voters in the state. While some political commentators took their concerns seriously, others dismissed them out of hand.

Among those who fell into the latter camp were the panelists covering Super Tuesday for MSNBC. They not only failed to try and understand why Virginian conservatives cared about the issue so much, but mocked them for it.

"If you look at some of these exit polls," former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. "I live in Virginia; immigration was the number one issue. 

As she said this, Joy Reid laughed and nodded along.

"Well, Virginia does have a border with West Virginia," Rachel Maddow quipped. "Very contested area."

"Build the wall!" another co-host added as Psaki reiterated her disbelief.

According to NBC News, upon leaving the polling stations, Virginia GOP primary voters were asked which of four issues "mattered most in deciding [their] vote today." Results showed that 11 percent said foreign policy, 11 percent said abortion, and 33 percent said the economy. The remaining 37 percent said immigration.

"I find that to be particularly interesting," Tim Pool said of the numbers, pointing out that Virginians were supporting Donald Trump by a margin of two to one. "Immigration has become the principal issue in this election, which is crazy."

Citing the famous quote, "It's the economy, stupid," he went on to note that it "always comes down to money," and that in recent years, immigration has become a fiscal issue given the fact that those who enter the country illegally are now receiving a slew of benefits from prepaid debit cards to houses with no down payments.

During Joe Biden's time in office, the number of illegal immigrants flooding into the United States has reached unprecedented levels, causing overwhelmed border states to send them up to areas of the country that have long been geographically immune to the issue. The aforementioned exit polling data shows that this is having an impact on voters' priorities.