BORDER/ELECTION/GOP/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump’s border policy backtrack this week left his fellow Republicans with a choice: flip their own positions or stand firm. It was an easy decision. They changed to be consistent with the president. Still, the move carries risks. While Mr. Trump has long been forgiven by the GOP base for his often-changing policy views, Republicans expose themselves to be attacked by Democrats as flip-floppers by switching their positions to match those of the president. On Friday [6-22-18], Mr. Trump threw them a new curveball, tweeting that ‘Republicans should stop wasting their time on immigration’ until after the midterm elections. That message came just as House Republicans are trying to hammer out a final bill to be considered next week that some members say is critical to help their re-elections in November. Mr. Cramer, who is running for the Senate against Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, initially defended the Trump administration policy of separating migrant children who crossed the southern border from their parents by telling a local radio station ‘there’s nothing inhumane about a chain-link fence.’”
-Reid J. Epstein and Janet Hook, “Republican Lawmakers Follow Trump’s Lead, Every Twist and Turn,” The Wall Street Journal, June 22, 2018 11:42 am