Once again, President Donald Trump‘s opponents and his constant critics in the news media are calling him a racist. It’s been the go-to response to him from Democrats and even several Republicans who have thought this is a foolproof weapon against him since he first announced his candidacy for president in 2015.
How’s that working out for them?
The fact is the charge of racism doesn’t work very well on Trump. But folks keep trying it anyway.
It still seems to be the strategy right now in the battle over the budget and the special DACA protections for the children of illegal immigrants. That’s how it’s playing out after Illinois Democrat Sen. Dick Durbinaccused Trump of making the now-infamous “s—hole” comment about Haiti and African countries last week. Frantic depictions of those comments as definitive proof of Trump’s racism have dominated the news cycle ever since.
The goal now seems to be to use this racism-branding tactic in order to shame Trump into bending to the Democrats’ will. On Monday, Durbin revealed he’s pursuing that shaming strategy, telling the Chicago Sun-Times that, “if President Trump is not a racist, he can prove it” by making a deal on the DACA legislation.
Good luck with that.
The reason the shaming strategy is a long shot this time and has failed in the past is because it’s nearly impossible to shame or even scare Trump at all. It’s even harder to shame him into doing anything.
Look at the president’s tweets and public statements every time he is criticized. Does he ever sound or act like a guy who even considers contrition? Donald Trump is a man who almost never chooses to stay above the fray no matter who is attacking him and how they do it. This was his well-documented behavior before he was a candidate, when he was a candidate, and even as president.
The shaming game has its own special hall of shame when it comes to its ineffectiveness. The highlights are:
- It not only failed to get then-candidate Trump to stop talking about Mexican illegal immigration after his first speech as a candidate, the issue became the hallmark of his campaign.
- Calling Trump anti-Muslim because of his immigration ban on several predominantly Muslim countries produced only the slightest tweaks to the policy and no real backing down. Legal challenges to the ban have only enraged and hardened Trump’s resolve even more as they continue to be upheld by the Supreme Court.
- Even when racism isn’t a factor, shaming Trump doesn’t work. The many critics of the GOP tax reform bill found that out the hard way when he continued to push for the bill and eventually got it across the finish line. That was despite the constant depiction of the bill by its opponents as a shameful boon to the rich. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers even said 10,000 people will die per year in America because of the tax bill. That didn’t deter the president at all.
So, predictably, Trump is responding the opposite way to this latest shaming attempt. He’s now toggling back and forth between taking a harder line on immigration policy and insisting he’s no racist in his public comments and tweets.
We must have Security at our VERY DANGEROUS SOUTHERN BORDER, and we must have a great WALL to help protect us, and to help stop the massive inflow of drugs pouring into our country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018
Unemployment for Black Americans is the lowest ever recorded. Trump approval ratings with Black Americans has doubled. Thank you, and it will get even (much) better! @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018
That’s a far cry from Trump’s statement before the “s—hole” controversy when he said he’d sign and DACA compromise bipartisan congressional leaders came up with.
If the Democrats really are concerned about protecting the so-called “Dreamer” immigrants, there’s really no excuse for them to be surprised by what’s occurred over the last few days. Now, the chances are much greater that the Democrats will have to move to shut down the government when the budget deadline passes on Friday. Worse for them, their bargaining position on behalf of the DACA recipients is weakened now that the focus on the vulgar comments in a closed door meeting has flipped the president from compliant to defiant.
I hope Trump sticks to his promises on immigration and DACA.
If he wants to expedite ruin for the GOP in 2018 and the end of his own morally motley administration after the 2020 election, ending DACA without any deal to protect nearly 800,000 young people protected by the program will certainly be very helpful.
@Greg: And Hilliary has a 90% chance of winning.
@Greg: Not worried they wouldnt be here to vote against him.
He said he would take heat to sign a deal, giving everyone amnesty is not a deal, not funding the wall is not a deal. They presented a long wishlist. Then coming out of that meeting with lies, proves its democrats not wanting a deal, they need something to run on and intend to try to screw it up. Proves they dont care about the now adult illegal dreamers that have a chance, heartless bastids.
Unlike the 2013 shutdown, there is no Obama in office to artificially make the shutdown painful on the American people, mainly by closing off open-air parks and recreational areas. Also, there is not Democrat administration falsely claiming a shutdown will stop Social Security payments. Most of these shutdowns go unnoticed but for Democrats telling us how bad it is.
Shut down the government and, guess what? Mueller and his merry band of Obama/Hillary sycophants are sent home for the duration. Is that what liberals want? An indefinite delay in someone riding up on a unicorn with a rainbow pot of Russian collusion?
@Greg: DACA was voted down in the Democrat-dominated Congress twice. Then, Obama illegally enacted it as law, handing out amnesty as if it was his to bequeath. Trump promised to address it in March but Democrats want to rush the schedule. They think they can get DACA out of the way and leave Trump with no leverage to get border security… the bane of liberal hopes of using illegal immigrant votes to swing elections.
I kind of liked the analogy made by the Secretary of Homeland Security. She said if you sneaked your kids into Disneyland, would they be obligated to allow them to stay? Keep in mind, these “children” were illegally brought here by illegal immigrants. THAT problem needs to be solved, DACA or not.
Laws. Remember them? Yeah, they still exist, though Obama, Holder, Hillary and Lynch made it look like they simply don’t matter. Immigration needs to be fixed and, as usual, the Democrats would rather prolong the divisiveness than solve any problems.
The 2018 elections are going to hinge on the economy and right now, that is a big bright spot for Republicans. More and more people are seeing through the lying media and it is losing its impact. Better not let the government get shut down so Mueller can find that collusion. “Help me, Obi-Mueller… you’re our only hope.”
@Bill… Deplorable Me, #5:
DACA wasn’t amnesty. It was a 2-year period of deferred deportation action granted to certain undocumented individuals who applied for it and who met specific conditions.
For an example of amnesty, you’d have to look back to what Ronald Reagan did in 1986. With the stroke of a pen, he legalized the presence of 3 million undocumented aliens residing in the United States. Unlike DACA, didn’t matter if they had come here as adults, fully aware of the illegality of their entry. Have you somehow forgotten?
@Greg: No one forgot the democrats were to build a wall to prevent the need for such action in the future but as always they lied.
It was also a law passed by congress no pen and phone unconstitutional illegal BS.
@Greg:
Oh. Sorry. Then, I forget the term defined by excusing the criminal offense committed by persons and allowing them to go free. Please let me know what that is. However you know what it definitely WAS, the way Obama did it? I believe the term is “illegal”.
And what was the other part of that amnesty (glad you remembered the term) deal? Oh… that’s right. Democrats promised to secure the border. That “stroke of a pen” was him signing a LAW passed in Congress, which the Democrats reneged on. Is the border secured? Apparently not, since we are now talking about 12 million illegal immigrants, their kids and how to end this open-ended problem the Democrats love.
If you weren’t so dishonest and would recall that, you would understand why no one now trusts Democrats to keep their word. They want to get a DACA deal (a month early) so they can take it off the table for any negotiations for the wall and border security. Nuh-uh. Not this time.
You want to shut down the government? DO IT!! Shut it down, let’s see how that floats THIS TIME. The media has ruined their credibility, so giving Republicans the full and sole blame is going to be more difficult, and blaming Republicans is the basis for every Congressional action the Democrats take. So, shut the MF’er down, if you think you’ve got the balls.
This is gonna be GOOD!!
@Bill… Deplorable Me, #8:
Yep. Reagan granted permanent amnesty to 3 million undocumented aliens. Unlike Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, it wasn’t a renewable temporary status, intended to allow people who were brought here as minors to study and work to earn a living while their status issue is finally sorted out by our lawmakers.
What Reagan signed was both permanent and far broader in application; it applied automatically to nearly 3 times as many undocumented aliens. If you dislike DACA, you should absolutely hate what Ronald Reagan did—assuming you’re consistent and rational.
Do you really think Democrats are going to cave because they’re afraid Republicans are going to point fingers and blame them for a shut-down, when it can be mentioned that Republicans have control of the House, the Senate, and the White House?
Republicans will also have to deal with another inconvenient fact, reported in The Hill a few days ago:
If they were smart, they’d deal with the problem with bipartisan compromise legislation. The blame (or credit) could then be shared. They might even make funding for their wall part of the deal.
@Greg: There we go again with polls. That’s all you have. If Trump is elected the market will crash. LOL.
Good luck with polls that over sample democrats.
Sure, you’re right. Polls never matter, tax cuts raise revenues, and the market will continue to go up forever. You should probably convert any precious metals you hold into bitcoins.
@Greg: Gee dow was supposed to crash and never recover if Trump won. How’d that work out?
When the market was going up under Clinton the media couldn’t stop talking about it, now not so much. My retirement accounts have never looked better.
I guess you don’t have one. Too hard thinking for yourself. Must rely on gov’t money only.
Reality is hard for you.
Unless you are an illegal Demos don’t have much to offer.
@Mully, #12:
You should ask again after his time in office has ended.
@Greg:
As explained earlier, he did that by way of SIGNING INTO LAW A BILL PASSED BY CONGRESS. I’m not sure how t make more clear the difference between that and Obama enacting by illegal edict a law that Congress had twice defeated. In addition, part of that law that Reagan signed (which he would not have signed otherwise) was securing the border. Democrats failed to uphold their end of the bargain and, therefore, their credibility is shot.
I’m assuming you understand how Congressional votes work, right? So, it leads me to believe that you are feigning stupidity in ignoring the FACT that unless Democrats support a measure to continue funding the government, it is THEY (just as in 2013) that are responsible for its failure and, thus, the shutdown of the government.
No, I don’t expect the Democrats to cave, because the Democrats don’t want to solve the problem. They want to prolong, extend, exacerbate the problem because, historically, they profit from abusing such issues… with the help of the equally corrupt liberal media. If the Democrats had actually wanted to resolve the issue, Durbin would not have come from confidential negotiations and lied about what Trump said.
The difference now is that a majority of the people see through the liberal media, do not trust the liberal media and, additionally, DACA is not a high priority for them. So, Democrats (because they desperately need the votes of illegal immigrants) are going to embarrass themselves over a low-priority issue. If they support the closure of the government over their intransigence, they will have taken the position of supporting illegal immigration, open borders, more crime by illegal immigrants and the costs to taxpayers for supporting illegal immigrants over funding the military. Good luck with THAT.
DACA is not illegal. DACA has been challenged in court as unconstitutional, and no court has determined that to be the case. This is the constitutionally defined means whereby the legality or illegality of contested executive actions are ultimately determined.
What you apparently don’t like is the way our constitutional system of government works. That tends to come out anytime the system doesn’t produce the results that you want. The same “logic” applies to the media, which is only viewed as truthful to the extent that you agree with what is being reported.
@Greg:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/11/fifth-circuit-obama-immigration/415077/
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/court-rules-daca-is-likely-unconstitutional-218012601.html
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/23/politics/immigration-supreme-court/index.html (They needed just one vote against to break the deadlock. Hmmm)
Enacting by royal edict a law twice defeated in Congress, where the PEOPLE are represented, is NOT how our Constitutional system of government works and Obama created a great mess behind (one of many). He apparently thought this was the United States of Obama. It isn’t. Never will be.
Hmmm… Reporting Donald Jr. emailed about Wikileaks emails before they were publicly released was truthful? Reporting that the Trump campaign had communications with Russian intelligence before the election was truthful? Reporting Flynn was going to testify that Trump told him to contact the Russians was truthful? Reporting Scaramucci was under investigation over a meeting with a Russian banker was truthful? Reporting Mueller had subpoenaed Trump’s Deutchebank records was truthful? Reporting that Sessions failed to disclose Russian contacts on his security clearance paperwork was truthful? Reporting that Republicans funded the false dossier was truthful? Reporting that Comey did NOT tell Trump he was not under investigation was truthful? Reporting that 17 intelligence agencies agreed Russians affected the election was truthful? Reporting that Manafort had used the term “donations” in his notes on the meeting with the Russian lawyer was truthful? Reporting Trump was going to suppress a Climate Assessment (that was already publicly available) was truthful? The most truthful thing that can be said is that the media lies to hurt Trump and help the Democrats.
@Bill… Deplorable Me, #16:
There have been NO final rulings that DACA is unconstitutional. No court has held Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals unconstitutional. DACA was temporarily enjoined by a Texas court, but that was not on the basis of contested constitutionality.
That’s why DACA remains in effect. Had it been found unconstitutional, it wouldn’t be in effect.
@Greg:
It’s NOT in effect. HELLO?
@Bill… Deplorable Me: They call it the dream act, in civics class only the congress can pass acts then it goes to the senate for more pork then to the president for signature. That and only that is the way it becomes a law.
@Greg:
They may have skipped this with your banana republic education.
@Bill… Deplorable Me, #18:
Uh, no, it’s still in effect. Rescission is currently blocked by court decree.
@Greg: https://www.lifezette.com/polizette/two-new-polls-show-trumps-tax-plan-is-becoming-more-popular/ The media pokes itself in the eye again. The American people get the opportunity once again to contrast reality with what the Democrats and media are telling them. You should probably seek out another tactic than relying solely on lying.
Strongly support or somewhat approve? So 54 percent somewhat dislike or totally loath it? And this being touted as progress?
@Greg: A majority (48% to 46%) also support a wall, though most polls cheat and ask about a wall along the entire border, which Trump has made clear is unnecessary (but the media and other liberals would rather lie).
So, Trump has clearly stated the WANTS to establish DACA as law, but he insists and HAS insisted that border security… the WALL… is a necessity, or no deal. Then, the anti-Trump (anti-American) contingent offered a deal that did not seriously include support for the wall. So, they slap the President’s outstretched hand for bipartisanship and a deal and kill the deal.
That’s racist. Why would you cite a racist poll?
It appears today the government will run out of money. Thanks, Democrats.
Shut it down, like every day at 5 pm and every weekend, somehow we will survive, it has happened 17 times since 1977. Hundreds of millions of people died has happened never.
A government shutdown translates into an estimated $6.5 billion hit on the national economy, per week. A shutdown is never a good thing.
Of course Congress keeps on getting paid without interruption, government shutdown or not. That’s one of the rules they made.
@Greg: It’s been shut down before. We survived.
The media makes it into a bigger deal than it is.
I know to extreme libs like yourself you think government supplies oxygen. Maybe it’s your government check you are worried about.
@Greg: I’m gla you brought that up, I know when the paper machine went down they could calculate loss on it not making paper, the government only produces grief how do they lose money by closing?
@Greg:
Only for Democrats when they need a propaganda boost. Like now, when they can’t get any of their phony sideshow accusations to stick and Trump is racking up successes.
@Bill… Deplorable Me, #28:
The nation is now in it’s 42nd consecutive month of steady economic growth. I didn’t realize Trump had been in office that long.
Trump tracker: The story of his first year – in seven graphics
@Greg: Of course, growth is growth, right? 1.2% growth is exactly the same as 4%, isn’t it? Manufacturing jobs are the same as part-time, food service jobs, right? And, causing stock market growth through economic policies that favor economic growth instead of printing money and lending it at 0.0% is all the same. Right?
@Bill… Deplorable Me: But what about all the bonuses and raises to other than CEOs that happened. The unemployment dive for full-time benefit paying jobs that Obama created outside the government. Not to mention how he brought peace to the middle east.
@kitt: And saved us from a nuclear Iran. Yeah, boy.
@Bill… Deplorable Me: He cured global warming, stopped the ocean from rising, you know it has been rising for 11000 years and by his will alone it actually went down in level. not much but had he accomplished getting Hillary elected and we has spent all that money in Paris they could have got it to go down another thickness of a dime.
Trump most likely can’t be shamed at all.
Trump Lawyer Used Private Company, Pseudonyms to Pay Porn Star ‘Stormy Daniels’
At least she’s not Russian.
@Greg: He’s still an amateur in that department compared to Bill Clinton the rapist.
But oh we were told that was his personal life and did not affect his job. We were to move on and let him go back to work for the American people.
JFK was a well know womanizer as well.
Have a nice big bowl of hypocrisy.
@Greg: No amount of economic growth, national security increase, world wide respect or confrontation of our problems and enemies will make you liberals stop trying to find that silver fantasy that is going to ruin him, will it? You people are just so despicably desperate that no amount of hypocrisy is too low for you and no amount of damage to the nations is too great to satisfy your hunger for revenge.
Absolutely pitiful.
@Mully, #35:
Hypocrisy? Republicans have obsessed over a consensual affair between Bill Clinton and an adult White House intern for years, but have no apparent problem with their cult leader’s legal flunkies paying off porn stars. If Clinton had been caught on tape saying what Trump was caught saying, we never would have heard the end of it.
@Greg, #36:
Are you talking about Bill Clinton? The Clinton presidency was a time of strong economic growth, which averaged 4% over the entire 8 year period. His administration marked the last time in modern history that the annual deficit was reduced to zero and the budget was arguably balanced. There was actually discussion for a time about how best to utilize any surplus, as I recall. Nor do I recall any major foreign policy debacles. Clinton was very popular both at home and abroad.
Reality outside the Trump propaganda bubble is very different from the view within.
World’s Approval of U.S. Leadership Drops to New Low
@Greg: No, I am of course speaking of Trump because Trump, not either of the corrupt, lying, hypocritical, amoral Clinton’s, is President. A President doing a really, really good job, I might add.
Republicans balanced Clinton’s budget, by the way. Against his will, by the way.
@Greg: Trump wasn’t governor of a state or president during the alleged allegations. He was a private citizen. Can you say that about Clinton or Kennedy? NOPE.