BORDER/DEMS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “For President Donald Trump, every crisis in America’s immigration system is an opportunity. As controversy grows over his administration’s treatment of children separated from undocumented immigrant parents, Trump is seeking a political opening to damage his opponents and solidify his own support. It’s a classic strategy that he has deployed in toxic immigration wars before: Tout his toughness and dedication to law and order while blaming Democrats for not fixing the system’s problems. It’s a play that is likely to win approval from GOP base voters who saw in Trump a truth-teller on immigration whose tough policies and promise to build a wall could lacerate what they saw as liberal political correctness over the issue. Trump opponents see his policies as appeasing a hard-line stream of nationalist thought on the far right that is dedicated to stopping both illegal and legal immigration. The President repeatedly pleads with his supporters to show up at the polls in November to fend off enthusiastic Democratic voters, knowing his political future in Washington depends on the GOP clinging onto the House and Senate.”
-Stephen Collinson, “Trump whips up immigration storm over children,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, May 29, 2018 8:37 am