CONGRESS/DEMS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “President Donald Trump knows the new immigration plan he unveiled Thursday [5-16-19] is probably dead on arrival — but that isn’t the point. Instead of trying to push it through Congress, Trump is already treating the plan less like a legislative blueprint and more as a campaign document as he readies for his tough 2020 re-election fight. With some advisers concerned that his slash-and-burn, ‘build the wall’ message falls flat with independent swing voters, Trump hopes to unite Republicans around what he casts as a more pragmatic approach friendly to American businesses in need of high-skilled labor, and to position himself as a problem-solver willing to work with recalcitrant Democrats. Although Trump renewed his call for a Mexican border wall, Trump — reading from a Teleprompter in a traditional Rose Garden event — took an uncharacteristically mild tone on immigration, saying his plan has ‘heart’ and calling America ‘welcoming’.'”
–Anita Kumar, “Trump’s new immigration plan may be DOA — but it’s really about 2020,” Politico, May 16, 2019 6:33 pm