This wasn’t a political miscalculation on their part; it was a confession.
Republicans have been accusing Democrats of prioritizing illegals over American citizens for years, and Trump handed them an opportunity to prove them wrong, and they didn’t take it.
They couldn’t do it, so they handed Republicans a huge gift for the upcoming midterm elections. Trump baited them, and they took the bait. He knew they wouldn’t stand, and now the whole country knows that the only people Democrats stand for are illegal immigrants.
When voters pull the lever in November, many of them are going to remember exactly what they saw: a chamber full of Democratic lawmakers who, when asked point-blank to put Americans first, didn’t take it.
That moment in the SOTU speech was one excellent campaign commercial for republicans. I hope they’re smart enough to use it.