9:36 PM: Nothing much yet.
9:38 PM: I think we can see where this is going: talk louder to breeze over shift in positions.
9:44 PM: So far this is another blood curdling speech about Americans murdered by people in the country illegally.
9:45 PM: On how many undocumented immigrants are in the USA: “It could be 3 million or 30 million. They have no idea.”
9:52 PM: “We will build a great wall along the southern border … And Mexico will pay for the wall. They don’t know it yet. But they’re gonna pay for it.”
Okay, so Trump confirms build the wall and Mexico pays.
10:02 PM: So there will be a “Deportation Task Force” created within ICE.
Let me share a few more thoughts on how this Trump-Peña Nieto situation is shaking out.
We’re now hearing from President Pena Nieto as well as his press people that Donald Trump didn’t tell the truth when he said the two hadn’t discussed who’d pay for the wall. Pena Nieto says they did discuss it and he made clear at the outset of their conversations that Mexico would never pay for it.
It’s a quite legitimate question why Pena Nieto didn’t contradict Trump when Trump made this claim on stage with him. Maybe he’s lying. Maybe Trump’s lying. But remember, Trump’s a pathological liar. Pena Nieto? I have no idea about his reputation for truth telling.
Late Update: Here’s the Clinton camp’s first go at it. Not bad. But certainly not enough.
As I’ve explained – somewhat contrary to what seems to be the received wisdom – I don’t think this went well for Trump. The presidential visuals were definitely good. Pena Nieto was passive and even obsequious. But the key in my mind is that Trump refused to discuss who would pay for the Trump Wall, a centerpiece of Trump’s whole campaign. I think that will continue to be a telling moment well after the visuals have subsided. I will stick with that interpretation. But there’s another part of the equation: the blowback for Pena Nieto in Mexico.
Just a few moments again Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a major Trump surrogate, was asked on CNN if he was troubled by Trump not asking the President of Mexico to pay for the Wall …
“No, what difference does it make. The wall is important no matter who pays for it. If Mexico doesn’t pay for it, they do get foreign aid. Maybe we can deduct the price from the foreign aid. I’m not trying to be nasty.”
A few quick thoughts on the joint press conference between Mexican President Pena Nieto and Donald Trump. On balance, I think it was what I earlier today called the best possible outcome for Trump: “an uneventful and generally boring meeting or one in which Trump and Pena Nieto get into a spat or trade insults.” Obviously, this was option one.
A few thoughts.
Welcome to the cloudy, shadowy, foreboding glen where like Dante the Hillary campaign permanently resides — according to The New York Times. Seriously, it’s awesome. Check it out.
Supreme Court refuses to grant stay of lower court ruling that blocked most of North Carolina’s new voting restrictions. Everything going on here: crucial voting rights case … key swing state … tied 8-justice Supreme Court … controversial voting restrictions blocked two months before Election Day. Tierney Sneed has the details.
In January 2015, in the wake of the Republican sweep in the 2014 elections, I wrote an article for National Journal on “The Emerging Republican Advantage.” I predicted that because of their growing support not only among the white working class, but among voters with college but not advanced degrees (who tend to be mid-level white collar) and among senior citizens, Republicans could tilt the playing field in their favor over the next few elections. But I offered several conditions, and one was if they ran a presidential candidate in 2016 who like George W. Bush in 2000 ran close to the center rather than the right. (Remember “compassionate conservatism.”) I never dreamed the Republicans would nominate someone like Donald Trump.
As we reinforce the TPM space capsule for first contact with the afternoon Mexico City to Phoenix Trump shit show, there will be precious little time for me to harangue you about signing up for Prime. We’re six weeks into our 2016 annual sign up drive. We’re at 1175 signups for August. We’d really like to finish the month with 1200. You can help us get there and reap the glory of being number 2012. More, seriously, it matters. If you need TPM, we need you. We really do. Can you take a moment right now – not this afternoon or tonight but right now – to sign up for Prime? You’ll be really glad you did. I promise.