• Republican Strategist Mike Murphy predicted that the surge at the southern border and the unprecedented number of children in U.S. custody will become a political tool for the GOP
• “There are people inside the Republican Party saying, ‘Look, we can change the topic of the debate from Biden's action on coronavirus...compared to Trump's failures, to disaster at the border,” said Murphy.

Republican Strategist Mike Murphy predicted that the surge at the southern border and the unprecedented number of children in U.S. custody will become a political tool for the GOP to rally its base against the Biden administration — and to divert attention from former President Trump's failures in combating the coronavirus pandemic. 

"There are people inside the Republican Party saying, 'Look, we can change the topic of the debate from Biden's action on coronavirus ... compared to Trump's failures, to disaster at the border," Murphy said Wednesday. "That's our sheet music, that means the debate goes our way."

The Biden administration has defended its handling of the situation at the Mexican border. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has attributed the dire state of the U.S. immigration system to the Trump administration's policies.

Murphy told CNBC's "The News with Shepard Smith" that he could see Trump "turning on the foghorn on the right and starting the political blame machine." 

Murphy, a NBC News Political Analyst, said that he thinks there's a lot of political fear within the GOP to move forward on a path to citizenship. 

He said Republicans are unlikely to pass legislation in part because of the "shadow of Donald Trump and vengeful Trump primary candidates coming after you in a Republican primary."

The White House was not immediately available to comment.