US President Trump has come under furious attack from some of his staunchest supporters after backsliding on key immigration promises.
President Trump is reportedly near a deal with the Democrats that would protect hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants from deportation under the ‘Dreamers’ program initiated by Barack Obama.
He also announced Friday morning he would defer action on building his much vaunted border wall with Mexico, telling reporters “the wall will come later”.
The major policy backflips, first announced by Democratic leaders Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi, were met with immediate outrage from conservatives, including members of Trump’s own party and former friendly right wing commentators.
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, author of the book In Trump We Trust , went as far as to tweet: “At this point, who DOESN’T want Trump impeached?”
“If we’re not getting a wall, I’d prefer President Pence,” she added.
If we're not getting a wall, I'd prefer President Pence. https://t.co/g1mMhmm8ng
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 14, 2017
President Trump later denied making a deal on immigration with senior Democrats, saying any changes would be subject to a vote, but in a Twitter post confirmed his reversal in policy on DACA.
Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was an Obama-era policy that has allowed almost 800,000 so-called “Dreamers” to work and attend school in the US without the threat of deportation.
Earlier this month, President Trump moved to dismantle the program, saying he expected Congress and offered just a six-month delay until the dreamers’ two-year work permits began to expire in March.
Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham told listeners the political cost to President Trump and the Republican Party over the backflip would be steep.
“He’s going to get creamed for this,” she was quoted as saying by The Washington Post, reminding her audience of all the times during the election campaign Mr Trump chanted “Build the Wall!”
