President Trump flared Saturday at Democrats, immigration laws and Mexico, crowed again that his poll numbers are higher than President Obama’s and insisted the country is doing better than ever — all in the sort of defensive pitch that Republicans worry could cost them seats in November.
President Trump flared Saturday at Democrats, immigration laws and Mexico, crowed again that his poll numbers are higher than President Obama’s and insisted the country is doing better than ever — all in the sort of defensive pitch that Republicans worry could cost them seats in November.
Trump’s journey to the Cleveland Public Auditorium was billed as a presidential visit — meaning that taxpayers footed the bill in a trip otherwise dominated by his fundraising for the party.
The event was wholly political, however, and it served to illustrate the competing sallies for Republicans this election year: one seeking to attract a broad swath of voters by touting the administration’s effect on Americans’ lives, the other driven by the president’s desire to exaggerate and argue about grievances dating back to his election campaign.
In opening remarks at what was billed as a tax discussion, the president started off talking about trade and quickly moved to the issue of immigration. He suggested that Mexico had gone easy on immigrants who recently traveled north to the border in a peaceful caravan.
“I really thought they would be much tougher and better to us on the caravan. Didn’t quite work out, but that’s OK, that’s OK,” Trump said in a tone that suggested it was not OK.
“You just take a look at that mess that’s on television right now,” said Trump, apparently referring to coverage of the caravan, which had shrunk to a few hundred migrants when the group reached the U.S. border a week ago. All told, 228 people had applied for asylum by Friday when the caravan dispersed.
By Cathleen Decker for LOS ANGELES TIMES
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