At least when it came to his family separation policy, President Donald Trump may finally have succumbed to reality. After blaming it on Democrats and hiding behind a claim that the law mandated the separation of parents and children caught crossing the border illegally, Trump on Wednesday caved to a political firestorm. He is rescinding the policy.
In effect, Trump admitted that it was within his power all along to halt the ghastly practice of wresting kids from their parents' arms as part of a "zero tolerance" policy toward illegal immigration. Americans — including GOP congressional leaders — were justifiably horrified by the spectacle of infants crying for their mommies and kids being penned up in cage-like cells.
Politics had as much to do with this as humanity. Trump was doing severe damage to Republicans' hopes of retaining control of Congress in November. One sign emerged Wednesday when a senior GOP strategist revolted.
Writing on Twitter, strategist Steve Schmidt, who advised the campaigns of President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, denounced Trump's separation policy as among "the worst abuses of Humanity in our history." He cited a long list of failures that had turned the GOP into "the party of Trump."
"It is corrupt, indecent and immoral. ... It is filled with feckless cowards who disgrace and dishonor the legacies of the party's greatest leaders," Schmidt wrote.
"Our country is in trouble. Our politics are badly broken. The first step to a Season of renewal in our land is the absolute and utter repudiation of Trump and his vile enablers in the 2018 election by electing Democratic majorities. I do not say this as an advocate of a progressive agenda. I say it as someone who retains belief in DEMOCRACY and decency," he added.
Schmidt's denunciation was part of a thundering drumbeat. So was the outcry Tuesday night that forced Trump's policy enforcer, Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen, to leave the Mexican restaurant where she was dining. Protesters yelled, "Shame!" and "If kids don't eat in peace, you don't eat in peace!"
Politico reported that GOP lawmakers still can't agree on two dueling immigration packages that attempt to deal with the border crisis. A Capitol Hill visit by Trump to promote his own immigration policy — including funding for a $25 billion border wall — seems to have failed to sway lawmakers.
This could mark an important turning point. Congressional Republicans, mindful of recent primary defeats for politicians who had openly criticized Trump, have been reluctant to challenge him openly, no matter how wrong he has been. A primary is one thing. A general election is quite another.
Rescinding the separation policy won't come close to giving Congress the courage to address comprehensive immigration reform. But at least abject cruelty is off the table.
REPRINTED FROM THE ST LOUIS POST DISPATCH
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