Posted on 01/09/2018 6:09:32 PM PST by Kaslin
President Donald Trump has been besieged by allegations, rather ludicrous ones, that he’s somehow unstable and mentally unfit to be president. Michael Wolff’s new book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White, has been a public relations nightmare, despite multiple media figures and officials calling out its inaccuracies. Well, what happened today dispelled all of that. Cortney wrote it up earlier today. Trump held a bipartisan meeting with Democrats and Republicans on the subject of immigration. There was agreement that something had to be done for the DACA recipients, everyone was for border security, and there might be something on chain migration (via NYT):
President Trump on Tuesday appeared to endorse a sweeping immigration deal that would eventually grant millions of undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship, saying he would be willing to “take the heat” politically for an approach that many of his hard-line supporters have long viewed as unacceptable.
The president made the remarks during an extended meeting with congressional Republicans and Democrats who are weighing a shorter-term agreement that would extend legal status for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. Mr. Trump has said such a deal must be accompanied by new money for a border wall and measures to limit immigrants from bringing family members into the country in the future, conditions he repeated during the meeting on Tuesday.
[…]
Seated with members of both parties during a meeting at the White House to discuss a narrower immigration agreement, the president said there was room for a compromise on DACA.
“We have something in common,” Mr. Trump said of Democrats. "We’d like to see this get done.”
But the president said he would insist on strict new immigration limits as part of any such measure, calling it a “bill of love.” Laying out conditions that many Democrats view as nonstarters, Mr. Trump said the legislation must fortify the nation’s borders; end “chain migration,” a term used by immigration critics to refer to immigrants’ ability to bring members of their extended family to the United States after gaining their own legal status; and cancel the diversity visa lottery program.
Watch President Trump and congressional leaders debate immigration policy pic.twitter.com/QSnhJmhfnF— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 9, 2018
We’ll see. Either way it was great spin for the president, who Democrats have tried to cast as mentally insane; he’s not. The extended media access was hailed as an unprecedented window into deal making by the media, though some had much more measured responses.
That was great @realDonaldTrump. You should do it again in the future.— Sam Stein (@samstein) January 9, 2018
I can never remember seeing a president convene a discussion of an issue with this many congressional voices and this many viewpoints being discussed publicly. Pretty remarkable day at the White House.— Rick Klein (@rickklein) January 9, 2018
Trump smart for opening immigration discussion to press. Public gets to see deal making POTUS at his best.— Steve Peoples (@sppeoples) January 9, 2018
Even CNN praised the extended pool spray, with Dana Bash saying that this meeting probably wouldn’t have gone any different if the cameras weren’t there, citing two Republicans at the meeting who told her they had no idea the cameras would stick around that long. She added that this is what people who voted for Trump hoped his presidency would look like, The Donald “in command.”
Shannon Pettypiece of Bloomberg added that given the allegations in the book, Trump needed to meet with Democrats and an image improvement and this meeting satisfied those two goals.
Bash’s CNN colleague John King said what we saw today was a very engaged president, one who was putting the pressure on both parties regarding their talking points on this issue, while saying he’s open to comprehensive immigration reform. It’s something that this town hasn’t seen in a while.
The issue has reached a level of criticality, as a government shutdown looms in the absence of a deal on immigration.
CNN’s Dana Bash On POTUS’s Bipartisan Meeting With Congress: He Was “In Command”
I’ve throughly enjoyed watching Trump on this DACA issue as he ‘positions them all’ for the immigration issues he wants. They tried to play him and he upped the stakes.....I just laughed!
Now they’re all ‘sitting pretty’ for the cameras as if the Principal of a school just walked in!
I saw the whole recorded thing and I feel the same way you do concerning his demeanor and the effect he was presenting. Pearl clutching Lou Dobbs did not see it that way. Boy, what a disappointment his show was tonight.
Exactly. Trump showed his willingness to deal, so if the Dems do shut the government down over DACA - which I now highly doubt - no one can blame Trump!
That’s a magnificent observation!
ROFL!
He should demand that his interview with Mueller open as well.
He has such a poker face.
At the same time, voters who are afraid that Trump is caving on amnesty will be more likely to oppose RINOs who would like to pass amnesty. Tucker Carlson seemed afraid that Trump would cave, but I don't think that will happen.
I don’t get it. So many Snowflakes, so little time.
My God, some of the republican/conservatives have the tenacity of a slippery eel.
Tucker’s not on my list of must sees for years. They tried him in so many slots he is like the Waldo of TV.
Some on the conservative side are just ridiculous on this whole DACA issue, but I am happy that the President included the Democrats.
That televised meeting with President Trump and the bipartisan members of Congress, allowed the average viewer to witness what a brilliant, thoughtful, and competent president we have.
It was a thing of beauty to behold.
Yes, and many of the riled are here on this very forum. The President has a knack for drawing out "fair weather" supporters—in this instance, the hyper-purist crowd who never miss a chance to indulge in gratuitous second-guessing, making hysterical projections about how the President will suddenly "sell out" his base in a legislative process which has barely begun, and which will take months to complete.
It has become completely predictable to see people make the perfect the enemy of the good around here. As if there is never going to be disagreement with the President on the details a single campaign issue, and as if he will be abandoned by his base if there ever is.
What balderdash. If such people aren't #NeverTrumpers, they might as well be, because they serve a similar function—endless and premature criticism, with at least the effect (if not the goal) of undermining morale. Some of the more strident hand-wringers even used the word treason in reference to the President's comments today! That's right—President Trump's supposed supporters dubbing his actions treasonous, before any immigration legislation has even been introduced in the House!
Even after seeing the factual evidence of the President's exemplary first year in office, we still get abject, unhinged hysteria at the notion that the immigration legislation which ultimately passes might not exactly resemble the unrealistic—even draconian—measures which the extremists seem to be having wet dreams about. With their exaggerated, over-the-top characterizations, some seem to be trying to give Steve Bannon a run for his money in terms of loyalty towards the President—loyalty he has earned a dozen times over, and which should be given by any reasonable supporter.
Consequently, it's probably a good idea for the armchair quarterbacks to take a deep breath and realize that President Trump will have significant influence on this legislation. The President insisted today that border security is of paramount importance—indeed, he clearly indicated that "the wall" is imperative, and must be included in any comprehensive immigration bill that reaches his desk...
Yes, yes, yes, why can’t some see that?????????????????
I think he also wanted to make sure that any “shutdown” would be blamed on the dems’ refusal to discuss any kind of a deal on the wall and ending chain migration, two things which are very popular with voters, and would rather protect a bunch of illegal aliens.
After watching the meeting, it looks like Kevin McCarthy would be a great choice to replace Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House.
Trump simply stated that the wall can be built for less, and then added insult to injury and told the room that it won't take 7 years to build it - he wants it done in one year.
It was classic negotiation by out-manuever.
Good analysis Beau. I don't think everyone sees these distinctions as clearly. DACA is a slim subset of our illegal immigrants as you stated.
This meeting was fascinating from several aspects. One I already stated in a previous post (Trumps' incredible negotiation skills).
Another was how Trump sandbagged the Democrats. I don't think the Democrats (or perhaps the Republicans either) thought Trump would allow the Press to stay in the room for nearly an hour. The press was clearly grateful, and you can hear them at the end before they are asked to leave. They thanked Trump profusely for the access.
The American people now know the Democrats tactics to the letter (they want DACA amnesty now, and "promise" to deliver border security and the wall later). A fool's bargain, but Trump forced them to play their hand.
The last thing - did you all notice who was sitting at the table very close to the President? A junior Congresswoman - Martha McSally.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_McSally
For those of you who are unfamiliar, you should read her bio. I did not know her while I was on active duty, but I knew of her. She was the first female A-10 combat pilot, a USAFA grad, a Harvard grad, and a very impressive woman. However, I first heard of her when she sued the DoD because she refused to wear the Abaya while deployed to Saudi Arabia.
We were flabbergasted at her courage. A lowly USAF Major does not do such a thing. But she did. She stood up to not only the DoD and State Dept, but to the richest Muslim nation on the planet. And she won and made her point.
The fact that she was in that meeting, and spoke several times, tells me that the Republicans recognize her potential. I think she will be a Senator soon - when McCain leaves office, I believe she will run for his seat with the full endorsement of the Republican party.
McSally called out the Democrats in that meeting for holding the Dept of Defense funding hostage to the Democrats whims. She disputed that immigrants were not who needed Congress to act right now, but our men and women in uniform. She refuted the Democrats assertion that port and other security was not being addressed, saying at the meeting "Our bill does that."
Watch the Arizona Senate seat - I think it is hers when it comes available.
No interview with Mueller. Period. Maybe written questions with written answers. Nothing else. Do not dignify that whole biased and manufactured "investigation" in any way.
Wonderful post. Thank you for it.
“Yep. He also got a lot of the never Trumpers all riled up as a bonus.”
I’m always happy to see them riled up HERE.
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