Mutual Flattery Softens Policy Differences: ‘I Really Like Lindsey. Can You Believe That?’
But the group of pro-amnesty GOP’s Senators — led by Sen. Lindsey Graham — dodged the pressure as they tried to flatter Trump into weakening his support for his election-winning, immigration reform agenda.
As the Senators sat around him in the White House, Trump spoke to the voters via the media’s cameras, saying:
Trump then turned on the Senators, pressuring them to support his popular goals, while his top immigration aide, Steve Miller, watched from the sidelines.
Trump got easy agreement from Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley and from Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, both of whom are pushing bills that would end the visa-lottery and chain-migration. According to the transcript, which was rushed out in full by the White House, Cotton said:
Grassley, who is leading a loose coalition of Senators towards a Trump-style plan, said:
Trump called on Grassley first, and complimented Cotton and also his own chief of Staff, John Kelly, who was also in the room.
But Trump faced careful pushback from Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is sponsoring the Democrats’ main amnesty, the DREAM Act.
That huge amnesty would offer 3.25 million illegals a quick path to jobs, the welfare office and the ballot box, at a low-ball taxpayer cost of $26 billion during the first ten years. The amnesty would also mark the political death of Trump’s pro-American labor policies because it would show that business can persuade Congress to import more workers whenever wages start to rise.
Graham refused to endorse Trump’s plan, and instead tried to flatter the President, saying:
Trump, however, was ready for the flattery, and flattered his former enemy in the GOP establishment and the 2016 primary race races:
That mutual flattery hides the huge policy differences between Graham and Trump. For example, before the White House meeting, Graham chatted with radio host Hugh Hewitt and outlined his priorities. They include only small-scale wall construction, token “down payment” changes to the chain-migration system, and the reallocation of the 50,000 visa-lottery visas to business priorities. Graham said:
Two other pro-amnesty GOP Senators also declined to endorse Trump’s popular pro-American priorities.
Outsourcing advocate Sen. Thom Tillis repeated Graham’s flattery:
Tillis also complained about public support for the wall, saying:
Tillis’ ally, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, also joined the flattery, while also pushing the business-first claim that there is a March 1 deadline for a DACA/Dreamer amnesty:
Tillis and Lankford are pushing their SUCCEED Act amnesty. In a press conference, Lankford said illegal immigration is a good thing because it promotes competition in the labor market with Americans.
Graham is trying to include some of their SUCCEED Act proposals in the Democrats’ DREAM Act, according to media reports.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn also evaded Trump’s focus on chain-migration and the visa lottery, while touting an amnesty as a “great opportunity.” He said;
