It looks like Donald Trump didn’t appreciate his campaign staff trying to box him into a “pivot” away from his calls for the mass deportation of immigrant families, forcing his campaign to postpone a planned speech in Colorado this Thursday. For the last 48 hours, there has been an all-out, desperate attempt by Donald Trump’s campaign staff and surrogates to convince America that Trump might back off his repeated promises to forcibly deport millions of immigrant families.
There is no pivot. For the past year, the Republican nominee has called Mexican immigrants rapists and drug dealers, threatened to take away U.S. citizenship from children born in this country, and claimed that a federal judge was biased because of his race. Trump has established himself as a racist, deport-them-all birther; and this morning, he said that he’s not “flip-flopping,” he’s sticking with a punitive immigration plan that “has to be very firm.” Even his son, Eric, batted away the notion of a “pivot,” saying, “My father hasn’t flip-flopped on anything.”
Take it from Trump; he says he won’t change. Despite pleas from Republican brass throughout his campaign, Trump has jumped from one racially charged controversy to the next. He doesn’t want to change, he doesn’t want to pivot.
Tonight, you can be sure to expect the ubiquitous “build that wall” chant at Trump’s rally, the call-and-response “Who’s going to pay for the wall?” “Mexico!” routine, and–only if we’re very lucky–musings that a plane flying over the rally could be, “A Mexican plane up there getting ready to attack.” These utterances aren’t accidental slips of the tongue; they’re calculated moves by a candidate who has based the entirety of his appeal on hate.
Trump became the Republican nominee by aggressively scapegoating Mexico and Mexican immigrants and it would be naive to think he has any intention to stop. Above all else Trump is an unbalanced narcissist who thrives on his adoring crowds; and they love nothing more than when Trump hurls venomous invective at immigrants. There’s no “pivot”, there’s no “softening”, there’s merely an unhinged racist shamelessly appealing to his supporters’ most vile and base instincts.
Here are the 5 most nativist and xenophobic Trump immigration policies:
1. “Illegals Out!”–Trump would deport all undocumented immigrants.
- @realDonaldTrump: “Nobody Will Protect Our Nation Like Donald J. Trump. Our Military Will Be Greatly Strengthened And Our Borders Will Be Strong. Illegals Out!” [Twitter, Donald J. Trump, 3/26/16]
- WATCH: Trump: “We Have Many Illegals In The Country And We Have To Get Them Out.” [Lester Holt]: You’ve also promised to deport those that are in this country illegally. Do you stand by that? [Donald Trump]: They can come back, yes. They’re going to be deported. We either have a country or we don’t. We have many illegals in the country and we have to get them out and go through a process.” [“Nightly News,” NBC, 5/4/16]
2. “We Have To Keep The Families Together But They Have To Go.” — Trump would (illegally) deport American-born children of undocumented immigrants.
- WATCH: Trump Said He Would Deport The American Born Children Of Undocumented Immigrants: “We Have To Keep The Families Together But They Have To Go.” [Chuck Todd]: So you’re going to split up families? [Donald Trump]: Chuck…. [Todd]: You’re going to deport children– [Trump]: Chuck. No, no. We’re going to keep the families together. We have to keep the families together. [Todd]: But you’re going to keep them together out– [Trump]: But they have to go. But they have to go. [Todd]: What if they have no place to go? [Trump]: We will work with them. They have to go. Chuck, we either have a country or we don’t have a country.” [“Meet the Press,” NBC, 8/16/15]
- Trump Said He Would American Children Of Undocumented Immigrants. According to the National Review, “ Additionally, Trump’s stated intention to avoid separating families by sending American-born children away with their parents is obviously illegal; the United States government has no authority to deport American citizens.” [National Review, 9/7/15]
3. “Moved them way south. They never came back. Dwight Eisenhower.” — Trump’s deportation plan is based on “Operation Wetback”.
- WATCH: Trump Praised President Eisenhower For Deporting 1.5 Million Workers As Part Of “Operation Wetback.” “Let me just tell you that Dwight Eisenhower, good president, great president, people liked him. “I like Ike,” right? The expression. ‘I like Ike.’ Moved a 1.5 million illegal immigrants out of this country, moved them just beyond the border. They came back. Moved them again beyond the border, they came back. Didn’t like it. Moved them way south. They never came back. Dwight Eisenhower. You don’t get nicer. You don’t get friendlier. They moved a 1.5 million out. We have no choice. We have no choice.” [Donald Trump, Fox Business Debate, Milwaukee, WI, 11/10/15]
- Donald Trump Announced Plans For A Military-Style Roundup Operation, Similar To Eisenhower’s Operation Wetback, To Deport 11 Million Illegal Immigrants. According to The New York Times, “Mr. Trump has a simple plan to reduce the population of 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States: Deport them. How? He says he would follow the example of the military-style roundups authorized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954. The initiative, known as Operation Wetback, expelled hundreds of thousands of Mexicans.” [New York Times, 5/19/16]
4. “We Have The Anchor Babies. I Was Right About The Anchor Babies.” — Trump’s immigration plan would ignore or seek to change birthright citizenship as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
- Trump: “Many Of The Great Scholars Say That Anchor Babies Are Not Covered” By The 14th Amendment. “The parents have to come in legally. Now we’re going to have to find out what’s going to happen from a court standpoint. But many people, many of the great scholars say that anchor babies are not covered [by the 14th Amendment] . We’re going to have to find out.” [Donald Trump, Press Conference, Derry, NH, 8/19/15]
- WATCH: Trump: “I Was Right On The Anchor Babies.” “Donald Trump: Do you remember when you said about the anchor babies that there is nothing you can do about it and I said yes, there is? I was right about it. Bill O’Reilly: No, you weren’t. Trump: And frankly all we need is a simple — well, yes, I was. You don’t need a new amendment. All we have to do is go back to Congress and have a rather routine — it’s been fully vetted now, Bill. I was right on the anchor babies.O’Reilly: The courts have ruled twice against the anchor baby stuff. You’d have to get a constitutional amendment passed to overturn that. You might be able to do it. You don’t have to but you just — Trump: You don’t have to do a constitutional amendment. You need an act of Congress. I’m telling you — you need an act of Congress. Everybody thought you needed a constitutional amendment. You don’t need that.” [“O’Reilly Factor,” Fox News, 11/11/15]
5. “I have a very hard-line position, we have a country or we don’t have a country.” — Trump isn’t changing on immigration.
- WATCH: Trump: “I have a very hard-line position, we have a country or we don’t have a country.” “I have a very hard-line position, we have a country or we don’t have a country. People that have come into our country illegally, they have to go. They have to come back into through a legal process” [Donald Trump, CNN Debate, Las Vegas, NV, 12/15/15]
- WATCH: Trump: “I am who I am… I don’t want to pivot” I am who I am,. It’s me. I don’t want to change. Everyone talks about, “oh, well you’re gonna pivot, you’re gonna…” I don’t want to pivot. [Donald Trump, WKBT_TV, 8/16/2016]
- WATCH: Eric Trump: “My father hasn’t flip-flopped on anything” Eric Trump: My father hasn’t flip-flopped on anything. This was all the auspices of one article that came out that didn’t really… wasn’t grounded in any substance. [Eric Trump, “Fox and Friends,” Fox News, 8/22/2016]
Published: Aug 22, 2016