Here Donald Trump goes again, misrepresenting what’s going on with his own immigration plan. Trump’s plan is a white supremacist wishlist in exchange for Dreamers’ futures, but speaking to CNBC in Davos, he said don’t worry, “We’re going to solve the DACA problem,” even if it involves Trump and Republicans “shifting.”
"I think Cotton and Perdue and Goodlatte and the people that I've been dealing with — Cornyn, so many of the people — these are great people. These are people that really have shifted a lot. ... And I think they're willing to shift more, and so am I," Trump said, referring to Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, David Perdue of Georgia and John Cornyn of Texas.
"These are people that have very strong opinions on DACA and on immigration generally, and I happen to think they're largely right," Trump told host Joe Kernen. Asked whether these same lawmakers would agree to back a path to citizenship for DACA-eligible young people, Trump sounded optimistic. "If we make the right deal, I think they will," he said.
This, of course, is what Trump says when he’s not talking to an anti-immigrant hardliner. But the minute he seems ready to say it to a bipartisan group of lawmakers and turn it into a real deal, Stephen Miller and Cotton and Perdue will swing into action and bring him back into the evil fold. Just last night Cotton made it clear that he thinks the Trump-Miller white supremacist plan is more than generous enough and won’t be shifting to make a deal. And as for the plan as a whole:
“This isn’t a counter offer; it’s a legislative burning cross,” said Democratic consultant Eddie Vale, who has been working with several pro-immigrant groups to pressure Congress over the past few months. “This isn’t an offer of someone who wants to get to a deal—it’s attempting to use the DREAMers as pawns to change the entire legal immigration system and get every item on Stephen Miller’s white supremacist wish list.”
So, yeah. When Trump wants to appear reasonable to reporters and a television audience he might say “we’ll make a deal” and “we’re willing to shift more,” but when it comes to actually making a deal, his own brute racist instincts will be reinforced by the glib white supremacists around him. And really, when Democrats are faced with an initial “deal” clearly trying to “use the DREAMers as pawns to change the entire legal immigration system,” how are they supposed to approach negotiating?