CONGRESS/ELECTION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TWITTER: “Illegal immigration, the border wall, Democrats, ‘fake news’ and even ‘Cheatin’ Obama.’ These are the base-rallying call signs President Donald Trump has deployed on Twitter in the last week, just as he is facing a rare onslaught of criticism from pockets of his right-wing base over a $1.3 trillion spending measure he signed that didn’t include new border wall funding. The law included about $1.6 billion for border security. The lengthiest of his recent Twitter rants came in the last three mornings, after he spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago venting with allies and fielding the concerns of conservatives who worry he hasn’t done enough to mollify his political base’s demands for action on illegal immigration. Privately, sources close to the President and the White House say Trump is also increasingly turning to the 2018 midterm elections and has focused on how he can help deliver high turnout numbers among his supporters. Motivation his base is something the President and some of his allies believe will be key to keeping Congress in Republican hands and thus help avoid potential impeachment proceedings from a Democratic House.”
-Jeremy Diamond, “Trump’s base-pleasing border tweets foreshadow 2018 role,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, April 4, 2018 1:12am