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Suddenly it's Trump sounding soft on illegal immigration

webfact

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webfact Grand Master Member

webfact

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Suddenly it's Trump sounding soft on illegal immigration

By ERICA WERNER

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump defeated 16 rivals in the Republican primaries by being the most anti-immigrant of them all, promising to build a giant wall on the border and deport millions. He labeled opponents like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio as weak and amnesty-loving, and his extreme rhetoric pushed the entire debate over immigration to the right.

 

But suddenly, Trump is sounding like some of the people he defeated. In an appearance on Fox News Channel's "Hannity" show Wednesday, Trump talked about how tough it is to break up families for deportation, suggesting that maybe upstanding people who've been in this country for years should be allowed to stay if they pay back taxes and insisting, just as Bush and Rubio were repeatedly forced to do, that such actions would not amount to "amnesty."

 

"Everywhere I go I get the same reaction. They want toughness. They want firmness. They want to obey the law," Trump said. "But they feel that throwing them out as a whole family when they've been here for a long time, it's a tough thing. "

 

As often with Trump, his exact meaning was murky. And it was unclear if he was unveiling a new stance on immigration or simply trying out some new rhetoric to appeal to a general election audience as he lags Democrat Hillary Clinton in polls 11 weeks before the election. His new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, insisted on CNN Thursday morning that "nothing has changed in terms of the policies."

 

Yet at a minimum, Trump's new language seemed to reveal an awareness that his unyielding stance against immigrants is unlikely to get him to the White House, with Latinos voting in ever-greater numbers in key states.

 

"He's learned painfully, belatedly, that what stirs up a large part of the Republican primary electorate is not what wins general elections," said John Rowe, a GOP donor and former CEO of Exelon, who's planning to vote for libertarian Gary Johnson. "You cannot win without women, Asians, Latinos, African Americans."

 

On CNN Wednesday, Clinton dismissed Trump's shifting language as "a desperate effort to try to land somewhere that isn't as devastating to his campaign as his comments and his positions have been up until now."

 

There were signs that Trump risked angering some in the enthusiastic hard-core base that pushed him to the nomination in the first place. Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, who published a book called "In Trump We Trust," reacted with angry tweets to Trump's comments on Fox, including remarking sardonically "Well, if it's 'hard,' then never mind."

 

GOP Rep. Steve King of Iowa, a leading immigration hardliner, said in an interview that "I have some concerns at this point" over Trump's stances and suggested he should clarify.

 

The upside for Trump was not immediately apparent. Immigrant advocates argued he would gain no ground with Hispanics by giving lip-service to limited pro-immigrant measures while still insisting on the need for a border wall and other enforcement measures.

 

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.

 

"Look, when you launch your campaign saying Mexican immigrants are racists, drug dealers and murderers, I don't know there's a lot you can say to recover," said Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois.

 

After beginning his campaign saying 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.

 

"We're a country of laws, we either have a country or we don't have a country," Trump said in November. "They're going to have to go out and hopefully they'll get back. But we have no choice, if we're going to run our country properly."

 

Opponents including Rubio, Bush and Ohio Gov. John Kasich denounced Trump's proposals, insisting that there was no way to eject 11 million people from the country. But as Trump's campaign gained support, his opponents were forced to modulate their stances, as even those like Rubio who had supported a path to citizenship for people in the country illegally put the focus on border security first.

 

Trump was quick to ridicule his opponents. "Marco Rubio is totally weak on illegal immigration & in favor of easy amnesty," Trump declared over Twitter last fall. After Bush claimed that illegal immigration could be described as "an act of love," an Instagram video Trump posted showed the words, "Forget Love! It's time to get Tough!"

 

Yet now it's Trump talking about allowing immigrants in the country illegally a way to stay here.

 

"They have to pay taxes. There's no amnesty as such. There's no amnesty ... But we work with them," Trump said Wednesday.

 

"I would say it's nice to see Donald Trump acknowledge that he was wrong and that his opponents were correct," said Chris Schrimpf, a spokesman for Kasich. "What one hopes is that Donald Trump actually believes and knows he was wrong, and isn't just saying something in an attempt to get elected. "

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Associated Press writers Nicholas Riccardi in Denver and Julie Bykowicz, Julie Pace and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed.

 
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-- © Associated Press 2016-08-26
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Andaman Al Rookie Member

Andaman Al

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Posted

I get the feeling there may be only one side of the crowd on this thread. I feel so sorry for the Trumpeters that have committed themselves to him and got so excited by his Immigration policy, that they are now humiliated in the let down he has orchestrated. Seems the other night the strategy worked and Trump gained an extra two Hispanic votes, however he probably lost Two million RWNJ votes.

 

Meanwhile just to display the sincerity and loyalty of the man it appears that as soon as campaign funds started rolling in Trump increased the rent for the office space he uses in Trump Towers to 169 000 USD per month up from 35 000 per month. The rent payments are paid directly to him...............for use of his own building. Couldn't make it up.

 

This man completely rebuked the other primary candidates for the Republicans on their soft approach to illegals and now here we are and Trump issuing EXACTLY the same things. By the way how do you collect 'back taxes' for people that were working illegally (they will say they were not working), how do you tax them in the future when they are illegals? If they pay taxes they are no longer illegal, therefore it is amnesty.

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attrayant Gold Member

attrayant

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Andaman Al said:

I get the feeling there may be only one side of the crowd on this thread. I feel so sorry for the Trumpeters that have committed themselves to him and got so excited by his Immigration policy, that they are now humiliated in the let down he has orchestrated. 

 

Don't worry; just wait a few days and it'll change again.

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ilostmypassword Rookie Member

ilostmypassword

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, ivan96822 said:

He must tone down his rhetoric and make changes to appeal to more voters. There are less than 100 days until the election...

It's not a case of toning down. It's a flip-flop...errrr... pivot. Because you know, flip-flop sounds kind of wishy-wishy whereas pivot sounds dynamic and athletic.  Very important distinction.

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Alive Rookie Member

Alive

Posted
Posted

Trump got so many attacks for his wall yet the Dem party of America said not a word about the Israelis. Funny how things work.  Of course, it would be hard to build a wall along that long border so I never thought that would happen. I know Trump like all politicians is going to have to get the best he can dealing with all the others involved. He would do something for American citizens whereas Hillary will do something for foreigners putting Americans on an equal level to them. These days being American means nothing other than a vote. As America goes this way were citizenship means nothing and laws mean nothing, US citizens should really just ignore the laws. Crime does pay and the US government under Hillary isn't going to force the other nations to treat foreigners living on their soil better. I have a lot of liberal values but there are some things Hillary is just wrong about. Of the two, Trump is the only one who might make any meaningful change for the benefit of Americans. That's what I hope but deep down inside I know Trump and Clinton are both likely to sell out the poor as they always have done. It's all pretty hopeless.

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lifeincnx Advanced Member

lifeincnx

Posted
Posted (edited)

So much for Donald Trump self-description as an unwavering opponent of illegal immigration. If the members of his base were capable of introspection, they would realize they have been royally Trumped.
 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/us/politics/donald-trump-immigration.html?ref=politics

Trump flip-flops.jpg

Edited by lifeincnx
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hawker9000 Platinum Member

hawker9000

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, JakeSully said:

14022098_1270295682981540_46437815970413

 

LOL @ the Trumpers! Told you guys.. the only person he cares about is himself.

 

Not 1 person who cares about America would ever say wages need to go down.

 

Thank goodness for that selfless, humble, public-minded, supremely altruistic, incorruptible, and above all self-sacrificing Hillary, eh?

:cheesy:

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mtls2005 Diamond Member

mtls2005

Posted
Posted (edited)

Trump has stranded his number one cheerleader and not so subtle racist, Ann Coulter, up a river, right on the eve of the launch of her book about him.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Trump-We-Trust-Pluribus-Awesome/dp/0735214468

 

People Give Ann Coulter’s Book Cover A Makeover After Trump’s Immigration Flip-Flop

 

While Ann Coulter not having the best day due to the release of her book coinciding with Trump's brand new squishy, Jeb Bush-esque stance on immigration, everyone else is having a great time.

 

Aside from the constant mocking, some have taken to photoshop to help give Coulter's new book, "In Trump We Trust," a brand new look that better coincides with recent events.

 

http://www.redstate.com/brandon_morse/2016/08/25/people-give-ann-coulters-book-cover-makeover-trumps-immigration-flip-flop/

 

My fav...

 

 

CqqnHfnVMAA6_RT.jpg

Edited by mtls2005
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thaibeachlovers Star Member

thaibeachlovers

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Berkshire said:

Poor Trump just can't do anything right.  His extreme right supporters, like Ann Coulter, may not forgive him....

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ann-coulter-book-launch_us_57be9461e4b02673444e79f4

 

“There’s nothing Trump can do that won’t be forgiven. Except change his immigration policies,” Coulter writes.

I saw Coulter on tv this morning. I think she is disappointed, but like me, she would never, never, never vote for HRC. A vote for HRC is a vote for a leftist liberal SCOTUS and massive illegal immigration.

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Jingthing Legendary Member

Jingthing

Posted
Posted (edited)

This isn't about getting the minority vote.

It's about fooling some more white people that he isn't as racist as he obviously is.

His core base (the white supremacist xenophobic racists) doesn't care what he says to try to win the election.

In their hearts, they believe he's one of them, and with really good EVIDENCE. 

It's fairly normal politics to play such games ... so when he says he's not a politician, that's another one of his lies.

He is now officially a politician. 

Edited by Jingthing
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Briggsy Diamond Member

Briggsy

Posted
Posted

11 more weeks of Trump non-content headlines. It is as if the "celebrity" craze of the last two decades now cannot be contained and is just everywhere including on the front pages every day and in the race for the world's top job. Have we reached the pinnacle of dumbing down? I don't think I can take it any more. I want somebody to grab him by the throat and scream in his face, "Just tell us you f***$ng policies." I've had enough of this salesman's BS.

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thaibeachlovers Star Member

thaibeachlovers

Posted
Posted
13 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

11 more weeks of Trump non-content headlines. It is as if the "celebrity" craze of the last two decades now cannot be contained and is just everywhere including on the front pages every day and in the race for the world's top job. Have we reached the pinnacle of dumbing down? I don't think I can take it any more. I want somebody to grab him by the throat and scream in his face, "Just tell us you f***$ng policies." I've had enough of this salesman's BS.

Given that HRC hasn't released any specifics either, that goes both ways.

However, we can guess she'll be Obama Mk 2.

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thaibeachlovers Star Member

thaibeachlovers

Posted
Posted
19 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

This isn't about getting the minority vote.

It's about fooling some more white people that he isn't as racist as he obviously is.

His core base (the white supremacist xenophobic racists) doesn't care what he says to try to win the election.

In their hearts, they believe he's one of them, and with really good EVIDENCE.

It's fairly normal politics to play such games ... so when he says he's not a politician, that's another one of his lies.

He is now officially a politician.

Agreed. He is a politician ergo he is a liar. What does that say about HRC?

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Linzz Rookie Member

Linzz

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Trump and his campaign are a complete joke, but dangerous nonetheless. Just look what happened with Brexit!

 

What happened with Brexit? You mean a dangerous joke, or....?

Remains to be seen I guess

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Ulysses G. Star Member

Ulysses G.

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

This isn't about getting the minority vote.

It's about fooling some more white people that he isn't as racist as he obviously is.

 

 

He is not racist. This is a dishonest PC talking point. Like he says, the democrats try to brand EVERY republican presidential candidate this way. They said the same thing about squeaky clean Mitt Romney.

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