Transcript for With new proposal, Trump offering things base 'might not love': NYT reporter

We're joined now by our powerhouse roundtable ABC news political analyst Matthew Dowd Shawna Thomas Washington bureau chief for vice news. Asked dead Herndon national political reporter for the New York Times. And NPR congressional correspondent. Susan Davis welcome to all of you great to have you here and Matthew. I'm gonna start with you it's now week five of the shut down we've heard the president's offer. We heard the tweet. You heard the reaction from both side does does that speech does this tweet today about amnesty perhaps in the future move the needle at all. Well I find the. Presidents one speech yesterday in his way he's conducted himself in the last few days at three levels really. First he's describing this as a negotiation but only Mike Pence Mitch McConnell and Jared Kushner met so and then make present him with a plan never having met. With team with Nancy Pulitzer of the Democrats on this be like you and I deciding what was good for NBC news and say here's or compromises what we've decided the second thing is. They call it a compromise and this is a problem the president calls this a compromise that he created. He created the doctor problem he created the refugee problem and now he wants to say I'm gonna solve the problem I created by you giving me five billion dollars it. Commute doesn't make sense and third more. But really importantly. I don't understand what politics he thinks this is. The majority of the countries against the wall. The majority of the country doesn't approve this press when he I think 29% only supported strongly them majority of the country blames the president for this shot got. In we have an election a few months ago. Almost on this exact issue. And the Democrats won historically the president's party in the president. Loss at historic losses on Election Day so I don't get the politics of this birth Pratt and and the negotiation tactics. And the compromise of this is anybody at the politics on this one. I'll cut OK you know it's not really but I think also from his speech he was trying to signal something because he very specifically said in that speech. I don't wanna 2000 mile concrete border wall he said all the things that we've heard before about how their mountains and rivers and there's other things to stop it. So he's trying to sound at least like he's coming to the table even if as you know Matthew pointed out. That none of the things he's offering our art things that we'll actually bring the Democrats to the table could be seeing one this should be argued about. Once the government has reopened of the parts of the government that are close to reopen. And two he created some of these problems themselves. An end about that that amnesty act I mean the tweet was really interesting. Democrats turned on my offer yesterday before even got. But he'll work out amnesty perhaps in a future deal and is that something yeah I mean. It's something that he's trying to signal that he's trying to make a compromise and we. Heard that the shift in rhetoric and now on this shift of of of policy wet weather it's a problem he created or not I think its interest in US the end Coulter tweet earlier that this as a risk of angering his own base and this is a based that he is actually whipped against this is chief saying things like gaga like yesterday they won't like what they Saturday exactly and I am saying things like doc got things like TP yes I think that they stood against the now. Four Porter wallets he said that he alone could do that he would do cutting unilaterally. He's offering things that they may not love and so it's interesting the politics here because it might have a risk of rip it angering the conservative base while Democrats are united against it already this is an issue they find kind of moral lead in raging in south Democrats are gonna budge at all but who might buds are some conservatives were still sticking with them who don't like these things. Offer and Susan's comes a week after president trump and speaker Pelosi traded some very big jabs when about the state of the union that Pelosi calling on the president to delay that. But trump. President trump canceling. Effectively capped her trip to Afghanistan. Does this really make matters worse yes I mean this is not going to be around Reagan Tip O'Neill kind of relationship between Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi. When Nancy bliss he has an an advantage here is she has worked with Republican presidents before she was speaker under George Bush they had to cut some comfortable deal she knows how to do it. I think presidents adjusting to having. Of very strong opposition. On Capitol Hill which is something he has not had to face yet as president and I think that there's train trying to figure out how to do this. You talk to the point of the conservative base let's not forget the democratic base in this debate right. If you look at how that the what the president offered yesterday was being perceived by immigration rights activists by the dreamer community. They are saying. Under no circumstances should you accept this deal so why does Nancy Pelosi or any other Democrat on Capitol Hill coming off of the selection where they just one big. Look at what the president has put on the table and say anything but. No way. And I think. I'm Martha part of the thing is I mean. I do I get the moral equation of this but everytime somebody uses the moral language and automatically backs everybody into a corner I think the real question is what's the efficiency of this. Fleming if you break apart this problem in the three sectors is. This won't solve the Wallace used for polling won't solve the drug problem as we know all the open the stats were drugs coming in all that. It won't solve the terrorist problem. It when you take a look at the terrorists where they come in where they are you actually if you wanted to build a wall you build and on the northern true ordered Gillibrand was talking about terrorists and if you really believe this was a humanitarian crisis as the president's now saying which is now different for I don't understand if you believe it was a humanitarian crisis. Why did he send the military. Down there approved before Election Day if you believe that was in a humanitarian crisis. This wall isn't the first point in doing that you'd have a multilateral meeting with Guatemala and El Salvador Mexico and you'd sit down and say how do we solve this so even if you just looked at if from an efficiency standpoint a government. And how we should spend our money on those three things. You wouldn't be doing what the president proposed. An inch or wanted to ask you about Mitch McConnell who hasn't really been seen much in this but apparently is gonna bring this bill. To the floor this week well and there was some reporting that Mitch McConnell basically one of the president to do something public. And put this out they are civic he had some cover when he brought to the floor because no and senate majority leader wants to bring something to the floor that you can't get the votes for. Question is he saw us get cloture on this. And you may be in a situation where you have been senator Dick Durbin Democrat to the world voting against some of these protections. For doc and TBS but because it's really a moral conversation about what the wall in lose. Even though the president is backing off when it physically means. Democrats don't have to give this to Mitch McConnell. At an asset federal workers have already missed one paycheck and if this continues they'll miss a second paycheck and that's really happening. Devastating impact on some. Right I mean there's the political games here and is as a very real consequences for a lot of federal workers mean we seem kind of devastating scenes of a food lines for folks who have jobs in DC but our furloughs right now and I think that impact as it gets. More are of real we are seeing that happen we're seeing that happen kind of viral Internet affected we're seeing just increasing pressure put on the president. And for the Republicans I think specifically to kind of look at those folks and ended to solve that. And a more humane way and so I think that when we get to things like paychecks are missing second pay sex these are mortgage payments I mean these are. These are real impacts and are having log on people's lives and that is kind of the first thing they kind of should be brought to mind here. It thank Andrea and I also think as it goes on longer and longer and you have missed that second key attacked. February 1 when people actually have to pay their rents will become like a very big day in the sand number line. And number two you start to have the concentric circle accurately so like what are those towns that rely on the people whose jobs are Bureau of Prisons workers there isn't not as much money flowing into this counts. I mean we had delta basically say they're losing 25 million dollars because the government just isn't traveling away at an. And that's why don't expect more than those they had an invalid story or ensure security of the country I mean that's fundamentally the secure the country is at risk at an end to consider wanna go back to you on the hill and and the state of the union and we know that Nancy Pelosi said you should skip but because of security and how they are put it writing Donald Trump said knicks this morning in a tweet I'm still thinking about the state of the union so many options including doing it as per your written offer made during the shut down security is no problem. And my written acceptance. While a contract has a contract I'll get back to you soon what do you think that. It's different options you know he doesn't have to get it from the house chamber but there's other places he can give it there's talk of may be going to State Capitol in getting at there. We talked about this before where he had some offers extended in North Carolina to come get it there he give it. Out with workers saying he's fighting for the wall you can -- from the White House I think it's safe to say the president's gonna make a statement about this and the White House is maximizing. The highest political impact of how they can take this tit for tat and trying get the upper hand and an. I want to move on to the Russian investigation and Mahler pretty shocking this weekend and nearly unprecedented. That the special counsel's office would come out with a statement disputing part of buzz feed to report. Alleging the president director Michael Cohen to lie to congress that's. Truly unprecedented doesn't look good for the media. What do you think captain so Britain Kirsten Gillibrand thinks it still needs to be looked at. I mean we're gonna we're gonna CL a plays out I mean this was certainly a bombshell report one that had lawmakers talking about impeachment they have to caveat if true right now we have seen that really come into focus. Though the rarity in which the special counsel's office puts out these type of statements. Mean we should really take this seriously they're putting out one of these denials that that means that we don't know which parts of this buzz feed reports are accurate but he has asked them to clarify the special counsel's office has not but the clintons in the kind of iffy situation right that we don't know which parts of this bombshell report are True Blue -- seat. Increasing investigations we'll see lawmakers want to poke at some of these a lanes that the report has opened up and as we get further and further along they might be vindicated it might be fully rejected it. It also made me think of all of the stories the countless stories that special counsel's office has not just exactly. Exactly I've never gotten an email back from the special council's press office that was more than like half a cent and that's said the fact that they came out but there's been only other stories right and the special counsel is basically saying. No comment to those so should I believe Darrell Treu was wow. And it opens the special counsel's office. Up for basically kind of confirming everything else in a weird way but I also think this just. Pulls and to focus the the only guy who knows what's going on is Muller and a special counsel's office. In it also helps in some way is Nancy Pelosi well all of their house members who may want to talk about impeachment. OK so late we can't go down the buzz feed impeachment route why don't we just weak from but not a great week for the media map we gotta go away. I just think would this is a time in the media and everybody lot of approach everything calmly and methodically but for the president his supporters to thank you accuse the media making mistakes they're not the best vehicle.

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