Trump’s misstep could be costly for GOP friends, foes
The furor over President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy has further isolated Trump from even Republican allies and threatens to spill over into the midterm races — including those here in Massachusetts — despite his effort to defuse the crisis yesterday.
The images of crying children locked up in metal cages could be political dynamite in 2018, damaging even GOP candidates who aren’t aligned with Trump.
Democrats were even taunting Gov. Charlie Baker yesterday, trying to drag him into the immigration fiasco. And protesters were just as loud, calling outside Baker’s office for the governor to show his face.
After Democratic consultant Kevin Franck tweeted about whether any of the undocumented child immigrants were being held in Massachusetts, former party chairman John Walsh demanded answers from Baker.
“Were we asked to hold them?” Walsh tweeted. “If asked, would we agree? Governor...? Hello...?”
Baker did not respond. But expect to see a lot more action like that on Twitter in the coming days and weeks.
The governor has publicly criticized Trump’s family separation policy, going so far as to refuse to send down a National Guard helicopter to assist in border patrol — a reversal from his earlier position.
But Trump’s actions on immigration leave Baker more vulnerable than ever to charges that he’s not doing enough to denounce the Trump administration. That’s why Baker has been so quick to distance himself from the “zero tolerance” border policy.
Not so with state Rep. Geoff Diehl, who was Trump’s state campaign co-chairman in 2016 and is now running for U.S. Senate. Diehl has aligned himself politically with Trump, but if he wins the Republican primary to face off against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, he’ll need to get independent and Democratic votes in order to oust her.
In a statement, Diehl spokeswoman Holly Robichaud said the Republican candidate “supports keeping families” together but also took a swipe at Warren for failing to show similar “outrage” against former President Barack Obama’s immigration policies, some of which also forced children to be detained in border facilities.
“Tragically, Warren’s position of favoring open borders encourages more people to try to illegally cross into our country, causing this problem of children being thrust into jeopardy,” Robichaud said. “Warren should be advocating to secure the border to stop the illegal crossings. Unfortunately, Warren has never shown any concern for Matthew Denice, who was a Massachusetts young man killed by an illegal immigrant. He was ripped from his family.”
The Warren-Diehl dust up could be minor compared to some of the debates raging in other states, including those red states where Trump is strong.
The most recent polls show Trump’s approval rating rising to the mid-40s, but that was before he was forced to backtrack and rescind the policy of separating children from parents accused of trying to cross the border illegally.
The fact that Trump retreated so quickly shows even he knows he was on the losing side of this immigration issue.
But the damage has already been done — and may be irreversible this time.