President Donald Trump focused on immigration today at the White House — a display meant to showcase his dealmaking ability and his mental acuity.
But it was sort of a mixed bag, POLITICO’s Seung Min Kim, Heather Caygle, Ted Hesson and Rachael Bade report: “a freewheeling, televised — and, at times, incoherent” event. It ended with participants agreeing what they would try to agree on.
“Yet even that tentative outline is prompting pushback from other members who want to tug a final deal on Dreamers to the right or left — further complicating prospects for an agreement that can be signed into law before the young undocumented immigrants begin losing legal protections en masse in March.”
Yet the event, which featured Trump negotiating for an hour live on television, may have accomplished something the White House wanted, POLITICO’s Louis Nelson reports.
“The meeting gave Trump a chance to appear in control, and featured substantive discussion — unlike televised meetings with Trump’s Cabinet and other allies in which participants have showered the president with praise, most recently last week — designed to allay Washington chatter about Trump’s fitness.”
