Civic Register
| 9.14.17

Trump’s Deals with Dems: Bipartisanship or Betrayal?

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What’s the story?

First, President Donald Trump struck a deal last week to extend the debt ceiling and fund the federal government for three months in exchange for Hurricane Harvey relief with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Now, the president seems to have struck another deal with the Democratic leaders to protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients in exchange for increases to border security.

Thus far some Republicans and segments of Trump’s base do not seem too excited about this apparent show of bipartisanship. Progressives were also cautious about embracing this agreement.

Why does it matter?

Schumer and Pelosi announced Wednesday night that they had struck a deal with the White House to protect DACA recipients. They were quick to note that the deal did not include money to fund the president’s border wall proposal.

The president and the White House then fired back, saying there had been no final deal. But Thursday morning the President tweeted support for DACA recipients and stated to the press that a deal was in the works, and that "the wall would come later".

Schumer and Pelosi issued an updated statement on Thursday morning:

"President Trump’s Tweets are not inconsistent with the agreement reached last night. As we said last night, there was no final deal, but there was agreement on the following:

"We agreed that the President would support enshrining DACA protections into law, and encourage the House and Senate to act.

"What remains to be negotiated are the details of border security, with a mutual goal of finalizing all details as soon as possible. While both sides agreed that the wall would not be any part of this agreement, the President made clear he intends to pursue it at a later time, and we made clear we would continue to oppose it.

"Both sides agreed that the White House and the Democratic leaders would work out a border security package. Possible proposals were discussed including new technology, drones, air support, sensor equipment, rebuilding roads along the border and the bipartisan McCaul-Thompson bill."

Staunch supporters of the president were vocal in their disapproval.

Breitbart News referred to the president as ‘Amnesty Don’ and ran an article entitled ‘Trump Caves In On DACA".

Conservative pundits on Twitter either doubted the veracity of Schumer and Pelosi’s statement on the deal or portrayed the deal as a betrayal of the president’s base:

Not all Republicans were dismayed, however. Sen. Jeff Flake tweeted his support of a deal Wednesday night:

While activists on the Left were cautious:

What do you think?

Do you support a deal that protects DACA recipients in exchange for enhanced border security? Do you think Trump making deals with Democratic leaders is a sign of positive bipartisanship or betrayal of the base on both sides?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons)

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