Transcript for Immigration may 'stoke up' GOP, but is a 'losing issue' in Nov: Matthew Dowd

I'm here to. Looking. And anytime I know how president. Gates is an old saw live we'll ask you how when and how. First Lady Maloney a child a reporter this week her compassionate words. A stark contrast to what she had on the back of that jacket right there I really don't care to do you 39 dollars are jacket. Had a lot of head scratching this week let's talk without a whole lot more on our roundtable now our chief political analyst Matthew Dowd. Our White House team senior White House correspondent facility Vega and our chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl. Democratic strategist Donna Brazil and Chris Christie former governor of New Jersey now and ABC news kocharian Melanie begin and we knew you served in the bush white has not during. Hurricane Katrina but some people started to say this week president trumps Katrina moment is that what it is. Well it's hard to say that because hit that bound child approval numbers are exactly. Already app where John George Bush's were in the aftermath of Katrina if anything you can argue that. Got down trust Katrina was his inaugural speech because after that his numbers dropped in end. Haven't really surface much since then there's a huge difference I mean there's some similarities but there's a huge difference the difference is is Katrina was an act of god. This was an act of Donald Trump which in his mind maybe an act of god you never know. Com and but it did demonstrated a level of incompetence in the bush White House and then it told the story along the way along with the war along with the economy. That basically framed a reference point for the entire rest of doubt and George Bush's presidency. I think that's the problem here the funny is weak its quaint to look back at Katrina because George Bush was criticized for spending one extra day on vacation during that time. Ending within four days of Katrina he's already had allocated ten billion dollars. To helping Katrina this is a whole different affair but I think it's problematic for the president they realize that you can tell the White House first. But he doesn't make many turnarounds this week he had to Buehrle did an innocent I think it's. I think one of the things that hasn't talked about this week George is the president was enormously ill served by the department justice. If if the attorney general committed since the president. I want you to do zero tolerance policy but let me just tell you we don't know enough judges table the cases. Wherever prosecutors to bring the cases we're enough detention facilities to legally detain the people that we're gonna show zero tolerance to the president would never approve this. Casino yeah. Other criticism from others around the president and inside the white essence Livingston let me start with years I have heard other underwear and us officials and other people administration. So yeah this is all Jeff Sessions fall right here he certainly seem to think that he was carrying out. But the president won Olympic. Well there is a serious battle going on for public relations and every man for themselves in scenes. Yourself if you can't going on behind the scenes the White House right now they're people who were blaming Stephen Miller for being the one entirely behind this there are people who say the president. Is gone Rogen is ordering everybody to do everything just shouting people are scrambling to try to get things in front of him to sign them will he not. I don't know that we know the answer to that at this point what I do know is you mention the Washington Post down balls peace at the top of that show they also called it. A textbook example of how not to govern I was in Katrina and I covered the story through the week and be honest. And I go back to Katrina when I was on the ground there covering that the same questions we were hearing about what was happening in Katrina how can this happen in this country. This is on American what we are seeing. Are what we are hearing from Democrats and Republicans and people rank and file around this country and frankly around the globe in response to a. It's obvious George the president is intensely focused on border crossings illegal border crossings and in 2017. We saw an historic flow down to levels we hadn't seen since the early seventies. And what happened is over the last three months we've seen a significant increase. In apprehensions at the border the president has been incredibly agitated about this about six weeks ago at a cabinet meeting. He started going off after cure stimulus in the sect only Decatur secretary. Demanding to know why she wasn't doing more to deal with this sessions at that point. Piped up in the meeting cabinet meeting and said 10 we just arrest everybody at the border they we should just we should simply apprehend and arrest everybody across the border. The legally. That is really when this crisis are for personal ads and it was when it's it's the president is what the president wanted to overall Brentwood the details were were were were generally session they have a former chief executive okay say yep that's what you want. You want people coming over the border. What if they did tell you is that she deserves your attorney general insist you. But by the way Mr. President. We won't have enough judges to process the cases we warm naproxen is to bring the cases. And we won't have enough detention facilities to legally hold people and warm wind that separating families is a result from the chief executive says. Art and love then that would do so that sounds like somebody who's competent. You know judge you mention Katrina and I have to tell you as someone who. Was seriously impacted by not just a political decisions to. The humanitarian crisis that happened. It was a moral crisis and what we saw this week was not just a political crisis but moral. The pulp spoke out. International leaders called on the president to act. The president kept insisting that he had no Paulus back and then later retracted backtrack would have you wanna call it and then he acted but this. This decision is executive ought to think it's 13841. I can't remember now. This distant. Ought to still face what I call legal political and budgetary crisis where not open its subtle but. While the president is in Las Vegas at Duluth you know giving campaign speeches about what might happen. This crisis is still not only. And I think Georgia think that the at a huge part of the problem is the way the president talks about this and claims this issue which I think is a complete faults. Miert announced on his first of all he's from. He's never he's always position this and if your compassionate towards people of the border then your for crime and then your farm overrun open border which is totally false way to look at. For your for security. He also frames this is all these people coming through here are all people there and mr. thirteen are there are going to be commit all these crimes and all every single stack. Says that illegal immigrants could commit crimes at a lower rate than native born Americans in this country so he's frame this in such a way. It is driven this division in the country let me and they were like George WR I'm one other thing. That the reason why immigration fail over immigration immigration for reform failed during the George W. Bush. With because of right wing house Republicans the reason why immigration failed during Barack Obama was because of right wing house Republicans that's. The problem there Leibowitz second ago. In the beginning of the Barack Obama administration their filibuster proof majority in the senate. And they had a huge majority in the house. And the president President Obama decided it was an import enough priority for him. To bring it when the weather and what yeah that would except Matt went past the senate went way to say. Wait did Democrats were completely control. And the Republicans who awful horrible right wing Republicans that you not edit part of a house okay. The fact is when do you want to keep changing the subject what fact that the Democrats weren't charged they didn't do it either. OK so they didn't vote with Health Care Reform OK well they don't need it don't say the economy while you mentioned this and he got that the heat he passed don't have noticed but in reality you quickly you had two presidents who had an opportunity to do something on. On immigration you had George W. Bush beginning of his second term decided instead that he was you don't do something on Social Security which fail and we Obama he hadn't decide to do. Health care instead of immigration first I think either one of those present had an opportunity that all things that you can't just throw it at the feet of one party both parties are pulling your and they write although it. And you can also make an argument that immigration could shouldn't necessarily be for either present the number one issue. NBC probably anywhere close to you are not at current administration is why we feel right towards the house it I'll I mean this this week right now and in the it has been periodically over time. And it to go back to what Donna said it is a moral issue and that's why. When you turn Charlie United States stands up and is quoting Bible first Pope to justify this kind of policy and also giving integrated price the president. That's about alien like one of the day failed. Target communications Joseph CB so many breakdown where process to see an ad that brings you back to that consumes just such a strange strange I like to see the First Lady. And then she did I don't know that I have seen more of a head scratching moment in an administration where we scratch our heads a lot covering vamp. Then that jacket every one. In the press room and the press briefing room where we work what are you there were audible gasps as what is easy cleanup costs and it could isn't this empire. And then this is not an accident the question is Annie answered that we don't have is. To cool was this message directed was this at the media like the president said there's absolutely no evidence that's that's that that's the case was this it to him. We don't know none less of whatever it was. It completely took away from the story she was down there to show did she cared about undocumented immigrant children being detained on the border. And get a talking about a coat you know. It really doesn't matter what the First Lady was trying to estimate had you know what did it distracted us from talking about these children I want to hear her. Talk about the babies are they being held they've been fed is someone change in their diapers. It distracted us from what her message was was to gold onto the border to show compassion. And a show the American people someone is taking care these children. That Jack it was a huge yeah. And I I don't know how to happened but I also see this and I was in this before it took to the folks in the room you know it part of it is is this is our fault too. Because you know she did get on the plane good down there. To see for herself what was going on there's no question in my mind that she was a major motivate during that White House behind the executive order president pushing the president to do that. And getting him away from the DOJ. You know interpretation of all this. And so what we spent seven if every percent of our time to pinpoint out what you looked at in the last in the last couple days don't about the jacket the fact is this woman is right. She's hardworking and she's compassionate and she went down there to show that the trump family in her name. Cares about these kids in these families. Why did she Wear that I can answer this if you're sick you'll be shocked and overlooking a big animal lobby doesn't consult a doctor. That this wasn't just a jacket this was a sandwich board this it was likely the equivalent of wearing a sandwich board with a message that you wanted to said which just somebody who and whoever was it was wrong. Whether it was to the press who are basically response where the reason why we're talking about what is your eyewitness families and if it wasn't to the press it was to somebody else she was wearing it for specific reason she may be the most compassionate wonderful person in the world she wore that jacket for what it's. If nobody else would to the border the president didn't go to the borders that's really channeled into the border to meet with those kids. The Department of Homeland Security secretary didn't go to the border she went to the border to meet with the sort of for signatures credit for.

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