Even Joe Scarborough Had to Admit That 'Most Americans' Agree With Trump on Immigration
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough made a startling admission on his “Morning Joe” program Wednesday morning.
Speaking on the topic of immigration and border security, the frequent White House critic said most Americans agree with President Donald Trump when it comes to these issues.
“Lot of people in the media may not like it. I talk about this massive disconnect between where Americans are on immigration and where the media is on immigration, where elites are on immigration,” he said. “Most Americans agree with Donald Trump and (White House adviser) Stephen Miller’s view of immigration.”
Scarborough — who publicly left the Republican Party out of the issue with President Trump — said U.S. backlash against illegal immigration is a “political reality” and believes House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s policies are not connecting with the average American, according to the Daily Wire.
“Whether you want to call it chain migration, whether you want to talk about the lottery, whether you want to talk about only wanting highly skilled immigrants in this country,” Scarborough went on. “There have been a lot of polls out over the past couple weeks and none of them are good news for Democrats.”
The MSNBC co-host ended by stating, “Don’t shoot the messenger, read the polls, most Americans are far closer to Stephen Miller’s views on immigration than they are Nancy Pelosi.”
Scarborough’s claims ring true — polls have indicated that most of Americans align with the president’s views on immigration reform.
A Harvard-Harris survey released in January revealed that 65 percent of registered voters believe that any legislation codifying the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, which protects young illegal immigrants from deportation, should be accompanied with funds for a wall on the U.S. southern border, an end to chain migration and the diversity visa lottery program.
Fifty-three percent of respondents agreed with “building a combination of physical and electronic barriers across the US-Mexico border.” Additionally, 61 percent believe current security along the US southern border needs improvement.
These positions coincide with President Donald Trump’s proposals as the White House and congressional Republicans negotiate with Democrats on an immigration reform package.
The Trump administration released its immigration plan last month, with measures that offer wins for both immigrant-rights advocates and border hawks.
The proposal would provide a pathway to citizenship for around 1.8 million “Dreamers” and also calls for a $25 billion added investment in border security — including the construction of a wall on the U.S. southern border.
Following two separate terrorist attacks in New York City, Trump has called for an end to the visa lottery program and chain migration, two avenues of immigration that allowed the alleged terrorists to enter the U.S.
While Trump has given overtures to Democrats by signaling support for a legislative fix to DACA — something they have vehemently called for — leaders in the opposition party have mostly stonewalled the negotiation process with showmanship tactics.
Senate Democrats led a weekend-long government shutdown in January over the immigration debate. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell eventually caved and allowed a budget deal to pass, putting an end to the shutdown.
In what was likely a sharp rebuke to conventional Democratic thinking, an internal Democratic survey found that a majority of Americans in battleground states blamed their party for a government shutdown tied to immigration. The findings may have led Schumer to have ended the shutdown battle as quickly as he did.
Democratic leaders may have already forgotten these poll results.
On Monday, Pelosi set a record when she spoke on the House floor for over eight hours, speaking in opposition to a congressional budget deal because it does not address immigration, according to CNN. If the House is not able to reach a deal, the government will yet again go into a shutdown.
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