President Donald Trump apparently has a newfound willingness to work with Democrats. But whether Democrats should be willing to work with Trump is another question. Since it’s unlikely that the president has suddenly developed a liberal conscience, there’s good reason to be wary of the kind of Faustian “deals” Trump might be offering.

It recently seemed as if we might have entered Topsy Turvy land. On September 5, the Trump administration announced that it would be eliminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program, an Obama initiative to provide leniency for undocumented immigrants who arrived as minor children.



Trump had long been threatening to get rid of the program, but even some Republicans and business executives saw the move as unnecessarily cold-hearted. Suddenly, on September 14, less than 10 days after announcing the program would end, Trump took to Twitter and seemed to declare… that it wouldn’t:



“Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military?” (To which many answered “I thought you did.”)

The reversal was baffling. But Trump appears to have a new strategy: after adopting uncompromising hard-right politics, he is willing to work with Democrats if doing so helps him achieve his objectives. So earlier this month, over the opposition of senior Republicans, Trump supported a Democratic proposal on raising the national debt ceiling. Then, after a friendly meal with the Democratic leadership, Trump and the Democrats publicly suggested that the Daca program might yet be saved.

Democrats, who are in the minority in Congress as well as most state governments, might be thrilled at Trump’s switch in sympathies. But they should be careful.



First, the move is clearly a calculated one on Trump’s part. His approval ratings are pitifully low, and “bipartisan compromise” may be a way to make himself appear less of a divisive fringe figure. The concern expressed by many progressives about “normalizing” Trump is a reasonable one. He’s not a normal president, and nobody on the left should take part in the campaign to make him seem like one.

Furthermore, these kinds of deals could further jeopardize important progressive values for short-term political gains. Trump has said that in exchange for his dealing on Daca, Democrats will have to accept “massive border security.” Democrats excited by the prospect of getting policy concessions may unwittingly end up furthering other parts of Trump’s agenda that run directly contrary to core Democratic principles.

At the same time, an outright refusal to work with Trump might be equally unwise. Trump is unprincipled and self-interested, but it is conceivable that his desire to be liked by a broader swath of the American people could lead him to adopt more moderate policies, given sufficient pressure. A more nuanced position is the one Bernie Sanders offered last November:

“To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him … To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.”

There needs to be a balance, then. Yes, Democrats should be willing to strike deals with Trump, if those deals further progressive values. They must not adopt a “friendly relationship” with him, though, that would keep them from fighting him on the most noxious parts of his plans for the country.



Democrats aren’t always the best negotiators, and have a tendency to give away major concessions in exchange for very little. If they’re going to sit in the room with Trump, they need to have a clear sense of what they’ll accept and what they won’t.

Sometimes you have to make a deal with the Devil. But you should always keep in mind who you’re dealing with.

