by GR
EARLIER TODAY, A STUDENT ASKED ME WHAT I THOUGHT TRUMP WOULD DO: Offer something reasonable that the Democrats won’t go for, I replied. And that seems to be what he’s doing:
President Donald Trump proposed a deal to end the government shutdown that continued his demand for $5.7 billion in funding for his border wall, but contained what he suggested was a concession to Democrats: three years of protections for immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children and those who fled certain countries and are covered under the “temporary protected status” program.
“This plan solves the immediate crisis, and it is a horrible crisis,” Trump said in an address to the nation, delivered from the Diplomatic Room at the White House. “And it provides humanitarian relief, delivers real border security and immediately reopens our federal government.”
Trump said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has agreed to put his proposal into a bill and bring it up on the floor by the end of next week.
Democratic leaders in Congress declared the plan dead on arrival, issuing a spate of statements based on early news reports of what Trump intended to propose.
The Democrats have gotten themselves into a position where they can’t accept the wall because of its symbolic-win value for Trump, almost no matter what else he offers. A journalist friend messages:
Trump is a genius. He took away DACA so he could give it back. If they don’t give him the wall, they screw the DACAs.
And the ongoing shutdown is their fault. He just grabbed their compassion card.
Prediction: His support among DACAs and Latinos will go up.
Well, the Democrats have made clear that they value people who haven’t crossed the border (illegally) yet more highly than people who are already in this country. Or, alternatively, that they hate Trump more than the love the “Dreamers.”
UPDATE: Thoughts from Trent Telenko.
