Democrats just do not get that Trump is not your typical patsy Republican. When you attack him, he won’t wilt. When you make political threats, he won’t back down. Instead, he comes back harder. Republicans do not need DACA. They don’t have to do it. They don’t have to find some pathway to legalization for illegal aliens.
Chuck Schumer decided that he would rescind an offer on the wall, which was just authorization, not actual funding. The wall was authorized back in 2006, it just needs funding. And the authorization offer was well less than the actual cost of building the wall. So, the offer was a big load of mule fritters to start with. And pulling it was simply a whiny response to losing the shutdown
(Fox News) President Donald Trump fired back Tuesday night at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for offering, then rescinding, a deal to support border wall funding in return for an immigration package that protects illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
“Cryin’ Chuck Schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat, that if there is no Wall, there is no DACA,” the president tweeted around 11 p.m. EST. “We must have safety and security, together with a strong Military, for our great people!”
Cryin’ Chuck Schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat, that if there is no Wall, there is no DACA. We must have safety and security, together with a strong Military, for our great people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2018
It’d be interesting if Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Paul Ryan all said “well, we were interested in doing some sort of DACA, but, Democrats poisoned that well, so, we’re moving on to infrastructure. Perhaps we’ll revisit DACA in 2019.” Trump refuses to play the political game the way Republicans used to. He’s not a squish. And he seems to be putting a backbone in the GOP. If Democrats want DACA, they’re going to have to negotiate in good faith. And realize they aren’t going to get everything they want while giving back a pittance.
Meanwhile
During Tuesday’s press briefing at the White House, press secretary Sarah Sanders said the president opposes an immigration proposal brokered by Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Flake of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.
“In a bipartisan meeting here at the White House two weeks ago we outlined a path forward on four issues: serious border security, an end to chain migration, the cancellation of the outdated and unsafe visa lottery and a permanent solution to DACA,†Sanders said. “Unfortunately, the Flake-Graham-Durbin agreement does not meet these bench marks.â€
So, squish plans are a no-go.
