Donald Trump visits border: What (or who) is his target?
Donald Trump is in Laredo, Texas, today for a visit to the US-Mexico border. The American political world is tingling with anticipation for what he鈥檒l say.
Some of that tingling is positive. Trump has many supporters for his unwelcoming attitude toward immigrants in the country illegally. That鈥檚 one reason he鈥檚 leading GOP primary polls.
Heaps of it is negative. Many top Republicans think 鈥渢rain wreck鈥� is too mild a word to describe Trump鈥檚 impact on the party and its attempts to increase its appeal to Hispanic voters.
The general public鈥檚 attitudes here are more complicated. Generally speaking, it鈥檚 not true that Trump has tapped into a gushing wellspring of anti-immigrant feeling, today.
Sixty percent of respondents to a Washington Post/ABC News poll supported allowing undocumented immigrants to remain in the US and work legally, with some conditions, points out The Fix blog鈥檚 Janell Ross.
Self-described Republicans weren鈥檛 so keen on this idea, though. A slight majority of 51 percent opposed allowing undocumented immigrants to stay.
And the country as a whole doesn鈥檛 support the Democratic Party on immigration. The GOP wins on the question of which party鈥檚 immigration policies the public most supports, by 40 to 37 percent.
鈥淚n a nutshell, people think that the country should craft some sort of way for people already in the country illegally to remain and participate in the workforce lawfully,鈥� Ross writes. 鈥淏ut, they don鈥檛 feel strongly enough about that to heap political rewards on any particular political party.鈥�
Of course, the relevant question this morning in regard to Trump might be who he鈥檚 going to attack, as opposed to what sort of immigration actions he鈥檒l espouse. In recent days he鈥檚 engaged in vituperative arguments with his GOP rivals, particularly former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Trump read out Senator Graham鈥檚 phone number during a speech after Graham called him (Trump) a 鈥渏ackass." Graham responded with humor, asking his Twitter followers whether his new phone should be Android or iPhone, and taping 聽in which he destroyed his old flip phone model.
Governor Perry, on the other hand, has gone full-attack-Monty. He unloaded on Trump in a speech, saying Trump is 鈥渢he modern incarnation of the know-nothing movement.鈥�
鈥淗e offers a barking carnival act that be best described as Trumpism; a toxic mix of demagoguery, mean-spiritedness, and nonsense that will lead the Republican Party to perdition, if pursued,鈥� said Perry.
Those are tough words. Also, full marks for alliteration! We鈥檇 be unsurprised if Trump fires back at Perry during his border appearance. He鈥檒l be in Perry鈥檚 home state, for one thing. Plus, Perry鈥檚 all-in on the fight, which means it鈥檚 likely to continue.
Remember, the Trump carnival is a big opportunity for the second- and third-tier candidates in the polls. They鈥檙e struggling to get noticed in a big, raucous field. The first debate is coming up on Aug. 6, and only the Top 10 contenders will get in. How to boost named recognition? I know, we鈥檒l mention 鈥淭rump!鈥� That鈥檒l get noticed.
Trump鈥檚 obliging by punching downward. He鈥檚 an exception to the political rule that front-runners shouldn鈥檛 deign to notice those lagging in the poll dust.
For Perry, Graham, et al, the stakes are high. It鈥檚 important for them to appear in the main debate, not the 鈥渒ids鈥� table鈥� forum held for the also-rans,
Why? Because the presence of Trump at the main event will guarantee a huge audience.
鈥淕etting noticed is the biggest challenge for candidates who aren鈥檛 at the front of the pack,鈥� writes Bernstein in his Bloomberg View column. 鈥淎nd the first step to getting noticed is being where people are looking in the first place.鈥�
