Rep. Steve King, a staunch critic of illegal immigration, said Friday he’s “happy to hear” Donald Trump clarifying his immigration policy and reiterating his opposition to legal status for undocumented immigrants.
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“I think it’s all about inclusion, I love his message”, she said, “I think he’s not a divider, I think he’s unfairly portrayed, I feel very positive about him staying on message”. I think it’s stupid because all Trump is doing is demoralizing his base.
“The electorate is conflicted and that’s a fundamental problem”, said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster.
Trump courted hard-liners on immigration in the primary campaign.
After beginning his campaign asserting that Mexican immigrants “are rapists”, and are “bringing drugs”, Trump built an image as the one candidate who would expel immigrants in the country illegally, pledging a “deportation force” to round up all 11 million and send them home.
By Thursday night on Anderson Cooper, it was legitimate to ask, ‘What the hell just happened, if anything?’ Jeb Bush says, and here he agrees with Joe Scarborough, that it’s hard to criticize Trump’s position (s) when you don’t know what they are.
Trump also defended calling Clinton a “bigot”, arguing that her policies are a personal reflection because she knows they are destined to fail minority communities.
Cuellar also agrees with Trump about the need for a stronger border wall between Mexico and America.
Overall, 71 percent of those surveyed said undocumented immigrants mostly fill jobs American citizens do not want.
Views of immigrants have shifted over time, but remain conflicted, said Mark Lopez of Pew. Many of them feel that undocumented immigrants harm Americans by undercutting wages and burdening public services for which they do not contribute (their share of taxes to support). But Curiel is neither “undocumented” nor an immigrant (he was born in the U.S.).
Immigration has created complications for both parties.
She described Rubio as a leader of the bipartisan Senate “Gang of Eight” that favored a pathway to citizenship for some immigrants now in the country illegally.
But the Democrat’s contradictions are dwarfed by those in the GOP.
As the rally got underway, Donald Trump did not veer from his script after his former Republican primary rival, Ben Carson, introduced him to a cheering crowd.
Ayres recalled a focus group in the Deep South during which conservative voters complained about illegal immigrants.
“When they come back in, then they can start paying taxes, but there is no path to legalisation unless they leave the country and then come back”. “But that’s amnesty”, the man responded.
Instead, advocates speculated that Trump’s goal was not to win over Latinos, but to soften his image among independent voters who might be inclined to support him but are turned off by his harsher stances.
“That’s when I turned around and cracked my head against the wall”, Ayres said.
Trump’s new immigration policy is now significantly to the left of Jeb!
“They are decent Americans who want to keep the terrorists the hell out of our country”, Trump said. It has to have broader reach than working-class whites, and avoid positions and rhetoric that convince people already inclined to believe such things that the GOP is thoughtless and retrograde.
Trump said Thursday he will lay out an “exact plan” on immigration in an upcoming speech. “This is all a game”, Jeb Bush said.
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Ann Coulter did not hold back when talking about Roger Ailes on this week’s episode of Powerhouse Politics podcast. Find out via AP’s Election Buzz interactive.
