In his first real attempt to end the government shutdown, the president announced Saturday that he would be willing to provide temporary deportation protections for some undocumented immigrants should Democrats agree to allocate $5.7 billion towards his border wall. Democrats showed no interest in accepting the president's proposal, prompting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to dismiss the deal as a "non-starter."
However, in addition to criticisms from the left, the president received blowback from hardliners within his own party.
Ann Coulter, the insufferable conservative political commentator, took to Twitter on Saturday to share her discontent with the president and echo her opposition of DACA. "Trump proposes amnesty. We voted for Trump and got Jeb!" she wrote on Twitter. "100 miles of border wall in exchange for amnestying millions of illegals. So if we grant citizenship to a BILLION foreigners, maybe we can finally get a full border wall," her rant continued. In addition to her comments on Saturday, Coulter told Vice News earlier this week that the president will be, “dead in the water if he doesn't build that wall.”
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) also blasted the president for his proposed solution. "A Big Beautiful Concrete Border Wall will be a monument to the Rule of Law, the sovereignty of the USA, & @realDonaldTrump. If DACA Amnesty is traded for $5.7 billion(1/5 of a wall), wouldn’t be enough illegals left in America to trade for the remaining 4/5. NO AMNESTY 4 a wall!"
During his announcement Saturday, the president described his proposition as a "common-sense compromise both parties should embrace." In his thinly veiled attempt, the president presumably intended on using the deal to shift pressure to the Democrats to end the government shutdown. Pelosi's dismissal of the plan stems in part from the lack of a permanent pathway to citizenship for the Dreamers Trump agreed to protect temporarily.
Trump's political opinions have proven to be fair weathered, particularly criticisms from his own party. Before shutting down the government, the White House indicated that a spending bill without a border wall allocation would be approved. However, Trump reversed his stance once Republicans who opposed the move criticized his judgment.
