For the last two nights, Donald Trump has appeared on his propaganda platform of choice, Fox News's Hannity, and on both nights, Sean Hannity has asked for clarification on what Trump would do about law-abiding, home-owning, undocumented immigrants. Obviously, during the primary, Trump's position was simple: a deportation force would pull all 11 million undocumented people out of the United States and send them back to Mexico. They're out! That's it! We have to! But somehow that isn't Trump's position anymore.
This happened last night. Watch starting around the 5:20 mark:
This is the second time in two nights Hannity has asked for clarification, because it's gotten confusing, and you see what Trump did? He threw it open to the madness of the crowd. "I'll ask the audience," Trump says. "Can we go through a process or do you think they have to get out? Tell me."
Then, like ratings-starved sociopaths, Trump and Hannity preside over a carnival of clapping and shouting to determine the fate of 11 million children, parents, families threatened with being ripped apart. Something about this puts me in mind of ancient sacrificial rituals in front of screaming hordes. After the people clapping for undocumented immigrants to stay seem to make more noise than the rip-the-families-apart camp (if I'm interpreting this stampede of obsequiousness and confusion correctly), Trump has the gall to tell us that, fine, these undocumented immigrants can stay, but they have to pay "back taxes," which not even Trump's own businesses do.
"They’ll pay back taxes, they have to pay taxes, there’s no amnesty, as such, there’s no amnesty, but we work with them," Trump says (?!).
As the Daily Wire and others have pointed out:
Trump’s new immigration policy is now significantly to the left of Jeb! Bush’s, Little Marco Rubio’s, and Lyin’ Ted Cruz’s. Jeb Bush stated in November 2015, “What we need to do is allow people to earn legal status where they pay a fine, where they work, where they don't commit crimes, where they learn English, and over an extended period of time, they earn legal status. That's the path — a proper path.” To which Trump responded, “The weakest person on this stage by far on illegal immigration is Jeb Bush.”
Ann Coulter is in a rage:
Well, if it's "hard," then nevermind. Trump: "... to take a person who's been here for 15 or 20 years ....It's a very, very hard thing."
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 25, 2016
It's "hard" to deport someone who's been here FOUR YEARS! https://t.co/Ajbon3TcDP
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 25, 2016
Trump: "they have to pay taxes, there's no amnesty" [Pro Tip: "Back taxes" means we pay illegals $30k apiece in EITC.}
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 25, 2016
Some other reactions:
What if one of the side effects of this election is Trump rounding up the nation's immigration hardliners and converting them into moderates
— Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) August 25, 2016
Is Trump’s immigration plan the same as it was yesterday or has it changed yet again? I can’t keep up.
— (((Touré))) (@Toure) August 25, 2016
On the one hand: Trump has “softened” his position on immigration.
On the other hand: Trump doesn’t really have positions, so who knows.
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) August 25, 2016
Take it from a narcissist: Trump just wants love from whatever faceless mannequins are in front of him that second https://t.co/5o94FjfYzo
— John Hodgman (@hodgman) August 25, 2016