“Nothing has changed about Donald Trump‘s position on dealing with illegal immigration”, Mike Pence, the Republican vice presidential candidate, implausibly declared on CNN’s State of the Union. “There’s no amnesty. But we work with them”, Trump said Wednesday.
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The latest statements clouded Trump’s already shifting thinking after a tumultuous week that saw him zigzag across the immigration debate.
In a campaign speech in Des Moines, Iowa, Trump also cited the shooting death of a cousin of National Basketball Association star Dwyane Wade to urge African-American voters to rally behind him, calling it an example of violence that has to be addressed. But who Trump considers a criminal remained unclear Sunday. Trump met with aides over the weekend to discuss strategy about the events, while Clinton, aides have said, is just starting the process by reading briefing books and discussing strategy with her tight group of advisers. Pushed by Cooper if Trump meant to make a personal argument about Clinton as opposed to a policy argument, Trump doubled down.
Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway acknowledged that Trump’s language on the issue of immigration has changed, saying on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that Trump “is not talking about a deportation force, but he is talking about being fair and humane, but also being fair to the American workers who are competing for for jobs, being fair to all of us who want secure borders”.
He’s also insisted he’ll build a U.S. -Mexico border wall. Andy McGuire criticized Iowa Republicans like Governor Branstad, Ernst, Grassley and the three Republican congressmen from Iowa who “choose to stand with Trump and continue to condone his divisive rhetoric and rationalize his unpredictable behavior”.
And as Trump makes his most overt pitch to African-Americans, Trump said he himself plans to visit several black churches in the next two weeks, including one trip to Detroit.
In recent days, Trump has suggested he might be “softening”, saying Wednesday that he might be open to allowing at least some immigrants in the country illegally to stay, as long as they pay taxes. “I really am a shepherd to God’s people, and the last thing I want to do is offend people”.
Looking to please a broader audience, Trump has shifted his focus to immigrant criminals rather than the majority of the 11 million people living in this country without papers. Since last summer, Trump has insisted he was for deporting the millions of people who are in the USA without proper documentation, while allowing those people to apply to return legally.
“These global gangs and cartels will be a thing of the past”. Will the Latinos who heard him say that the judge in his fraud case couldn’t be impartial because “He’s a Mexican” (the judge is actually an American; he’s no more “a Mexican” than Trump is “a German”) suddenly say, “Hey, now that I’ve heard that the “deportation force” might not happen, maybe Trump isn’t such a bad guy after all”?
Clinton “was very sobered by the Libya experience”, Ford said.
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Trump was joined on stage at the end of his remarks by just about all of Iowa’s state-wide elected Republican office holders, with the exception of Sen. “We need to know that we have a leader who can withstand that”, he said.
