Summary: Trump blames Democrats for the possible death of DACA.
On Monday, President Donald Trump blamed Senator Dick Durbin for killing the Dreamers program. Trump wrote on his favorite medium, Twitter, that Durbin had leaked the infamous “shithole countries” comment, and this is what killed the immigration talks, NBC News reported.
“Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting,” Trump tweeted. “Deals can’t get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military.”
On Sunday, Trump had stated that DACA was “probably dead.”
“DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don’t really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military,” Trump tweeted.
Last week, the president and members of Congress had been discussing next steps with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and Durbin had shared on Friday that Trump said that African countries were “shithole countries” and that he didn’t understand why America was letting so many nationals from those locations immigrate to the U.S. The remark drew public ire and had many calling Trump a racist.
“I cannot believe that in the history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any president has ever spoken the words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday,” Durbin tweeted. “President Trump said things that were hate-filled, vile, and racist. He used those words repeatedly.”
According to NBC News, Durbin still stands by his account. On Monday, he gave a press conference in Chicago.
“I know what happened. I stand behind every word that I said,” Durbin said. “In terms of that meeting, I’m focused on one thing – not that meeting — but on making sure that those who are being protected by DACA … have a future in America. I’m focused on that full-time.”
Last week, individuals such as Durbin and Senator Lindsey Graham gathered with Trump to discuss immigration and what to do with Dreamers, people who had illegally entered the U.S. as children but were provided protection from deportation by the government so that they could work and attend school. The Dreamers were participants of the DACA program which Trump announced in 2017 was ending so that lawmakers could find a permanent solution.
On Sunday, Trump denied being racist and said he would not use a vulgarity to describe African countries, according to the Denver Post.
“I’m not a racist,” Trump said. “I’m the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you.”
Trump stated that Democrats were to blame for killing DACA and that they did not want secure borders.
“I think we have a lot of sticking points, but they are all Democrat sticking points,” Trump said. “Because we are ready, willing and able to make a deal, but they don’t want to. They don’t want security at the border, there are people pouring in. They don’t want security at the border, they don’t want to stop the drugs. And they want to take money away from our military, which we will not do.”
The military remark Trump is referring to is the Democrats’ desire to make a DACA deal with Republicans, who are seeking more military spending money. The two parties are negotiating the budget, and if a deal cannot be made, the government could shut down midnight Friday, according to the Denver Post.
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