White House Reporters: Tell Us About DACA! And Also Oprah.

Supporters of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program (DACA) demonstrate on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House in Washington, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017. President Donald Trump ordered and end of protections for young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children, but gave Congress six months to act on it. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

According to pool reporters following Trump around today as he discusses immigration with Senators, the president thinks Oprah mounting a run in 2020 “will be lots of fun.”

Advertisement

“I did one of her last shows…. I like Oprah. I don’t think she’s going to run.”

This follows recent suggestions from media and fans of the Queen of Daytime TV to consider running following her stirring and powerful Golden Globes speech Sunday night. The White House has already released a statement saying they do not fear Oprah as a presidential contender, which raises the question of why Trump was even asked about the possibility of facing her in 2020.

Perhaps a more interesting nugget from this same pool report came when one reporter asked Trump about DACA and the border wall, which is the issue he has on the working schedule today.  He spent time meeting a bi-partisan group of Senators to discuss where they are on potential immigration legislation.

Asked by pool if he would agree to a DACA deal without the wall, POTUS said: “You need it. I’d love not to build the wall, but you need the wall.”

He added: “If you don’t have the wall, you can’t have security.”

POTUS [said] that didn’t mean 2,000 miles would be needed or that it would take seven years to build…

As mentioned, Trump engaged with 25 Senators today to discuss immigration and reiterated that his intention is to increase border security while finding an “answer” to DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Advertisement

President Trump said Tuesday he’s confident he can reach an elusive deal with Democrats to protect up to 800,000 immigrants from deportation — legislation Trump called a “bill of love.”

“We have something in common — we’d like to see this get done,” Trump said as he met with 25 members of Congress Tuesday.  “I hope we’re going to come up with an answer for DACA.”

The DREAMers, children of illegal immigrants who were temporarily protected under Obama’s DACA program, will lose their temporary status in March if new legislation isn’t passed to protect them.

Trump has indicated a desire to help the DREAMers, despite some more strident conservatives declaring that a weak stand on immigration. Trump appears ready to use DACA as a tool to negotiate border security, specifically the construction of a wall.

Steven Miller, senior policy adviser on immigration to the Trump administration, told Fox News Monday that Democrats are going to have to work with Trump on security if they want movement on and support for DACA.

“They care a lot about providing benefit to illegal immigrants. We’re saying to them, if you want to make a deal, then you have to both deliver benefits for American families and American taxpayers too,” Miller said.

Reporters at the meeting with Trump and Senators quotes Trump as saying he wanted three things in the bill: border security, end to chain migration and an end to the visa lottery program.

Advertisement

“Those three things are paramount. These are measures that will make our communities safer and more prosperous. These reforms are supported by the overwhelming  majority of Americans from every standpoint…And they’re being requested by law enforcement officers,” POTUS said.

“I’m appealing to everyone in the room to put the country before party and to sit down and to negotiate and to compromise. And let’s see if we can get something done. I really think that we have a chance to do it. I think it’s really important. You’re talking about 800,000 people. You’re talking about lots of other people who are affected, including people who live in our country, from a security standpoint.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, asked POTUS at one point if he would support a “clean” DACA bill; which she defined as coming with a “commitment that lawmakers go next into negotiating a comprehensive immigration deal.”

POTUS noted that to him, a “clean” DACA bill would include border security. Feinstein expressed worry that adding issues to the DACA discussion could delay a deal before the March 5 deadline.

Recommended

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on RedState Videos