PRESIDENT BIDEN - Policies Update

"Biden looks to ramp up pandemic relief as Republicans press for smaller aid package" PBS NewsHour 2/1/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Negotiations over new action to stimulate the economy are moving into higher gear Monday.  After releasing a $1.9 trillion aid plan last month, President Biden held a first meeting with Senate Republicans who are pushing an alternative plan.  White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor reports.

 

 

"Biden rolls back Trump’s immigration policies with a raft of initiatives" PBS NewsHour 2/2/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  President Biden is out with a raft of initiatives Tuesday directed at the U.S. southern border, and the man who will manage immigration policies, Alejandro Mayorkas is joining his Cabinet after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security.  Yamiche Alcindor reports.

 

 

"Biden’s economic adviser on pandemic relief: ‘We can’t afford to wait another few months’" PBS NewsHour 2/2/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  President Biden appears ready to continue the push for his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan a day after he met with Senate Republicans to discuss its size and scope.  Jared Bernstein, who was appointed to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the Biden administration’s stance on the plan.

 

 

"How President Biden’s policy shifts are impacting immigrants" PBS NewsHour 2/2/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  President Biden signed a series of executive actions Tuesday undoing many of the Trump administration's signature immigration policies.  This follows orders he already signed that reverse other controversial Trump era immigration items, like reinstating the DACA program and stopping construction of the border wall.  We spoke to some of those who are immediately and directly impacted by the changes.

 

 

"Arizona community divided over border wall after Biden’s policy changes" PBS NewsHour 2/3/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In Arizona, people are feeling the impact of President Biden's order to halt border wall construction.  While the wall's presence has already had a profound impact on border communities, its enduring legacy under a new President remains unclear.  Amna Nawaz reports.

 

 

"Bipartisan report urges the Biden administration to remain committed to Afghanistan" PBS NewsHour 2/1/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  One of the Biden administration's primary foreign policy challenges is how to end the United States' longest war.  A new bipartisan report urges the administration to remain committed to Afghanistan and ongoing peace talks.  Nick Schifrin reports.

 

 

"Congressional Democrats back blueprint for Biden’s relief plan" PBS NewsHour 2/5/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  President Biden's plans to pass a $1.9 trillion stimulus package picked up some momentum Friday as Democrats in Congress approved a basic blueprint.  While the measures don't have the force of law, lawmakers are expected to begin writing the details of a major package next week.  Yamiche Alcindor reports.

JUSTICE IN AMERICA - Trump Hampering Prosecutors

"Napolitano: Trump administration taking prosecutors away from serious crimes to handle border misdemeanors" PBS NewsHour 6/19/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The Trump administration has argued that it has no choice but separate migrant children and their parents who enter the U.S. illegally.  Former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano says it does have a choice, and that what’s happening is a humanitarian crisis.  Napolitano joins Judy Woodruff to offer her reaction to the “zero tolerance” policy, as well as the fate of the DACA program.

TRUMP AGENDA - On/Off DACA

"Trump’s tweets about DACA and migrant ‘caravans’ in context" PBS NewsHour 4/2/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  After a weekend flood of tweets about immigration, President Trump on Monday declared that "DACA is dead."  Lisa Desjardins puts the president's long-shifting stance on immigration policy in context and Judy Woodruff learns more about a group of Central American migrants who are making their way to the U.S. border from NPR’s Carrie Kahn, reporting from Mexico.

TRUMP AGENDA - Slowly Kill DACA

"DACA sits in limbo as symbolic deadline passes" PBS NewsHour 3/5/2018

Trump #NotMyPresident  Punish people (who were at the time) children for parent's mistake.

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Last fall, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the DACA program would end by March 5 unless Congress acted.  But that day has come and Congress has not acted, despite efforts to strike a deal that was ultimately rejected by President Trump.  Lisa Desjardins reports on what’s at stake for the “Dreamers.”

OPINION - Corn and Ponnuru 2/16/2018

"Corn and Ponnuru on Russia probe indictments, Florida school shooting" PBS NewsHour 2/16/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Mother Jones Washington bureau chief David Corn and National Review senior editor Ramesh Ponnuru join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week’s news, including criminal charges against Russian operatives for interfering in the election, the politics of gun control after another mass shooting at an American school and a standstill in Congress’ work to pass immigration reform and DACA protections.

Judy Woodruff (NewsHour):  And that brings us today to the analysis of Corn and Ponnuru.  That is David Corn, Washington bureau chief for “Mother Jones” and an analyst for MSNBC, and Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor at “The National Review” and a columnist for Bloomberg View.

Both Mark Shields and David Brooks are away this week.

And we thank you both for being here.

So, I am going to ask you in just a moment, Ramesh, about Ronan Farrow’s reporting.

But I want to start with our lead tonight, and that is this extraordinary set of documents that have come out from the special counsel, Robert Mueller, indicting 13 Russian operatives, individuals, in a systematic effort to overturn or to affect the outcome of the election in 2016.

What do you make of it?

Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review:  Well, I think that one of the things that gets ignored is just how much a surprise this was.

This didn’t leak beforehand, which I think is an impressive thing, since so many things do leak in Washington, D.C.  It shows you that Robert Mueller is running a very tight ship and he knows things that the press doesn’t know.  He knows things that the people that he’s investigating don’t know that he knows.

And that’s something that we all have to keep in mind as we follow the twists and turns of this story.

Judy Woodruff:  Where do you — do you think, David Corn, that we are now — that there is any doubt in people’s mind that the Russians were doing everything they could to affect the outcome?

David Corn, Mother Jones:  I think in Donald Trump’s mind and in his die-hard champions’.

I mean, people forgot Robert Mueller’s instruction, his task, is not just to investigate associations between Trump people and Russians, but to find out exactly what happened during the campaign in terms of what the Russians did.

They had three aspects to it.  One was what we learned about today, the social media thing.  The other was the hacking and the dumping, you remember, putting out the e-mails from the DNC and John Podesta.

And the third was probing state election systems to see what they could do.  They didn’t do anything on Election Day, but that worried people a lot.

And all these things are crimes.  So when Donald Trump, for the last year-and-a-half, says there is nothing to this, he’s helping Putin actually cover up criminal activity.

Judy Woodruff:  Well, and he’s saying, again, as we reported, Ramesh, no collusion, you know, more evidence, no collusion.

And yet is the White House paying enough attention to the facts on the ground about Russian interference in the election?

Ramesh Ponnuru:  Well, these indictments may not prove collusion, but they’re also not evidence against collusion.  They’re just about a different aspect of these Russian operations.

One thing that we have not seen from President Trump is any degree of urgency or concern expressed about these Russian efforts.  He seems to regard all of the talk of that as an attempt to delegitimize his election, and to reject all of it as a result.

Judy Woodruff:  And that’s understandable, isn’t it?

David Corn:  Well, no.

(LAUGHTER)

David Corn:  His number one job is to protect…

Judy Woodruff:  For the sake of argument.

David Corn:  … is to protect the country.  That’s what he is, as commander in chief.

And this very week, the intelligence chiefs appeared before Congress, and they all said (yet again) that the Russian effort, which was to help him, succeeded in 2016, and they expect the Russians to do it again in the midterm elections.

So this is a pressing national security threat that Donald Trump, as Ramesh says, doesn’t seem to even acknowledge, let alone do anything about.

Reminder:  In 'Trump World' it is ALWAYS about Trump and nothing else.

IMMIGRATION - The 'Dreamer' Program

"Senators begin to outline bipartisan ‘Dreamer’ plan as open debate begins" PBS NewsHour 2/14/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  While the Senate formally opened debate on the issue of immigration, it began the day where it left off on Monday, no clear bill or direction for protecting "Dreamers."  As President Trump pressed Congress to follow his four criteria for an immigration bill, a large bipartisan group of senators said they had agreed on a more narrow approach.  Lisa Desjardins reports.

"This ‘Dreamer’ and undefeated boxer finds peace in the ring in the face of uncertainty" PBS NewsHour 2/14/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  For DACA recipient Alexis Zazueta, the sport of boxing has been a calming force amid the uncertainty of his future.  The undefeated professional boxer was brought to Arizona at the age of 1 by his parents and found his passion for boxing in middle school.  Special correspondent Tyler Paley of Arizona PBS reports.

POLITICS - The Immigration Fight

"The key change that convinced Democrats to strike a shutdown deal" PBS NewsHour 1/22/2018

WARNING:  McConnell lies.  Don't believe 'promises.'

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Hours into the start of the work week, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Democrats would vote for a three-week spending deal to end the government shutdown that began Saturday, while Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised to allow Senate votes on immigration issues like DACA.  Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins join Judy Woodruff to talk about the bipartisan short-term deal.

"Trump ‘willing to have a conversation about citizenship’ for DACA recipients, says White House official" PBS NewsHour 1/22/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Immigration was one of the contentious issues that led Congress to its funding impasse and forced a government shutdown.  Now that the shutdown has been resolved, can lawmakers make progress on other contentious topics?  Judy Woodruff gets reactions to the compromise and each party’s priorities from Marc Short (White House Legislative Affairs Director), and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md).

"Collins confident Senate can reach compromise on immigration" PBS NewsHour 1/23/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Ma), one of the lawmakers who helped strike a deal to end the shutdown, says the challenge of overcoming differences doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying to reach an immigration bill.  Collins joins Judy Woodruff to discuss those prospects, as well as news that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was interviewed by the special counsel’s office, and the GOP casting doubts about the FBI.

"Trump immigration proposal draws mixed reactions from both parties" PBS NewsHour 1/25/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  President Trump’s immigration proposal may offer a path to citizenship for more than 1.8 million DACA recipients, according to the White House.  The plan would also request $25 billion for border security and restrict immigration by eliminating the visa lottery program and limit family-based migration.  Yamiche Alcindor joins Judy Woodruff to discuss the details.

OPINION - Shields and Brooks 1/19/2018

"Shields and Brooks on government shutdown blame, Trump’s first year" PBS NewsHour 1/19/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week's news, including the government shutdown showdown and the battle over an immigration deal, and how it will stick with voters on Election Day, plus what voters are thinking at the first anniversary of President Trump taking office.

Judy Woodruff (NewsHour):  Now, on the eve of the anniversary of his first year in office, the President faces the possibility of a domestic crisis, a midnight deadline to keep the federal government open.  And with fears of a shutdown growing, both parties are pointing fingers at the other.

That brings us to the analysis of Shields and Brooks.  That’s syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Welcome, gentlemen, on this deadline [shutdown] night.

So, David, where is your finger pointing?

David Brooks, New York Times:  I really don’t know.  I’m embarrassed for my country.

We have gotten used to these shutdowns, but we really shouldn’t ever.  It’s all so stupid.  If we had like a Dwight Eisenhower or Franklin Roosevelt, they would just say, OK, let’s get in a room, we will figure it out, and they would act like grownups.

They would feel so demeaned to go through the rituals of condemnation.  And so we shouldn’t forget that elemental fact, it shouldn’t be like this.

The second thing, though — and the way I think this is actually a significant moment is that it does represent the parties defining themselves in the base, in the middle of a big demographic shift in the country.

This is all funneling down to a debate about immigration.  We used to have debates about the size of government or debates about war and peace, but immigration is now one of the central issues in American life, and it’s really at the core of this thing.  And the Republicans clearly feel, especially in red states, they can go to red states and say, you know, we wanted to keep government open for Americans, we wanted to keep health care for Americans, we wanted to keep the Army for Americans, and they wanted to hold it up for a bunch of illegal Americans.

So which party do you support?  And that’s what the Republicans are going to hang their hat on in a country that’s rapidly diversifying.

Judy Woodruff:  How do you size all this up?

Mark Shields, syndicated columnist:  Well, the only place I disagree with David is, the Republicans don’t say illegal Americans.  They say illegals.

[sarcasm] And like everybody else, like David and I, and I’m sure you, we made a decision at the age of 6 or 8 where we were going to live, where we were going to go to school, and what country we were going to — whose flag we were going to honor.

And, overwhelmingly, this is an issue on which Republicans are on the short side.  Americans of both parties, independents believe that people who have been brought here, had no decision in illegal entry, who’ve grown up here, worked, and contributed to the country are entitled to legal status.

The problem is, quite frankly, the Democrats have chosen this as the one issue to make a fight on, and which does echo not simply the cause itself, but the politics of 2016, and identity politics.

And of all the targets of opportunity that Donald Trump and these Republicans have given them, from knocking people off of health care, to attacking widows and orphans, they have chosen this one.

It is one, quite frankly, this issue, that the Democrats prevail on overwhelmingly across the country.  What Mitch McConnell and the Republicans in the Senate are playing right now is state-by-state politics.  It puts Democrats in red states, they think, on the defensive, whether it’s Joe Manchin in West Virginia, Joe Donnelly in Indiana.

Judy Woodruff:  So, it sounds like, David, Mark is saying the Democrats are making the wrong call by hanging this argument, hanging their argument on whether to keep the government open on immigration.

David Brooks:  Yes, well, I would say it depends on your time frame.

In the short term, it probably redounds to both parties’ ill will.  Nobody is going to be persuaded here.  The polls say who’s to blame.  Democrats say the Republicans are.  Republicans say the Democrats are.

This is not the sort of issue on which people are persuaded by evidence.  They just go back to their partisan camp.

In the medium term, 2018, if it matters in 2018 — and I think the parties’ basic posture on immigration will matter– I agree with Mark.  It’s bad — if you’re a red state senator trying to hold onto your seat, this is a bad posture for you.  It’s just not good.

In the longer term, of course, if the Republicans maintain the party, not only of Donald Trump, but they turn into the party of Tom Cotton, who wants to cut legal immigration by 50 percent, then that to me is ruinous for the party.

And one of the things that’s fascinating, I think one of the reasons there is so much confusion here, is this was a party that had a very strong Lindsey Graham, John McCain, George W. Bush wing.  And, suddenly, that’s shifted.  And how far has it shifted?  Has it shifted all the way over to Tom Cotton?  A lot further than a lot of us thought.

And so people are trying to catch up to where the party has shifted.  And Donald Trump has muddied the waters by being here, being there, being there, but mostly pretty restrictionist.

Judy Woodruff:  Mark, you’re saying the Democrats had a choice.  They didn’t have to make this about DACA, about immigration, but they chose to do that, and they are taking a risk, you’re saying.

Mark Shields:  Well, yes.

Let me be very clear.  I think Democrats are on the right side of history.  I think they are on the right side morally.  I’m talking about the political judgment and the political assessment that is made.  And will it work for Democrats in House races across the country generically?  Yes, it will give — put the Democrats on the advantage, Republicans at a disadvantage.

But when you’re Mitch McConnell and you’re trying to hold on to the Senate, you’re trying to figure out how I can put Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota on the defensive.  The Republicans can’t find anybody to run against her.  Everybody’s passed on it.

And how do they take on Claire McCaskill in Missouri or Joe Donnelly in Indiana, both of whom have proved themselves to be formidable in red states and in winning elections?

So I think that’s really where it is.  I just think that there are more opportunities for the Democrats who, in 2016, were, and I think rightly, rightly, targeted as a party of identity politics, of reaching out to constituency by constituency.

(CROSSTALK)

David Brooks:  I would say the one thing that — the tide has been swinging, it looks like, in the Democratic direction in 2018.  And the only way they can mess it up that I can imagine (so far), is if they have a base election, if they go — if they make their voters in New York, and San Francisco and L.A. super happy but make the voters in Indiana and Tennessee and Missouri super unhappy.

And they risk that sort of fissure with this.

Judy Woodruff:  So that’s the state-by-state or district-by-district political calculus.

But, David, is there a price to pay from standing back and looking at this from the way Washington runs standpoint, from the fact it just looks, again, like it’s a place where they can’t get the job done?

David Brooks:  Well, I think the big story there is a lot of people around the country look at Washington and say, why would I ever want to go there?  Why would I ever want to pay attention to that stuff?  Why would I ever believe in that system?

And that’s a problem for the country as a whole.  It’s just, government is obsolescence.  If we’re going to fix problems, we have got to do it some other way, because that thing ain’t working.

It’s a more specific — and Mark has made this point in the past — it’s a more specific problem for Democrats, because the party of government has to live with the discrediting of government.

And in the long term, as people become more disgusted and distrustful of government, it served the Republican Party, at least politically, reasonably well.

Judy Woodruff:  And this coincides, Mark, as we have been saying, with the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s year in office, time in office.

How does he come through this?  I mean, how is he looking right now?  Does he come out of this looking stronger?  What?

Mark Shields:  Well, I wanted to take a step back, so I talked today to Peter Hart, who conducts with Bill McInturff, the Republican, Peter being a Democratic pollster, the Wall Street Journal/NBC poll.  And they did a year assessment.

And Peter said the most common word that was used to describe voters’ feeling a year ago about Donald Trump after the election was hopeful.  The most common word used now is disgust.  And he called it the year of alienation, that Donald Trump — and why is this important, Judy, how people — because a President needs a reservoir of good feeling and goodwill and confidence.

Ronald Reagan had it at Iran-Contra.  And it sustained him.  John Kennedy had it at the Bay of Pigs, where people had a personal relationship.  Lyndon Johnson didn’t have it.  Richard Nixon didn’t have it.  So when they hit rough patches politically, they didn’t have that core of affection, feeling, confidence that voters just extended to them and gave them the benefit of the doubt.

And Donald Trump doesn’t have it.  He lacks it.  Voters don’t think he has temperament, maturity, judgment or selflessness.

Judy Woodruff:  But he does have that core of voters who say they’re still with him, the 35, 40 percent.

Mark Shields:  He does.  No, no question about it.

But, Judy, think about it.  We now have the best economic times probably since the late 1990s, tech boom, really just phenomenal times economically.  The stock market is going through the ceiling.  And he’s still, you know, mid-30s?  I mean, ordinarily, any President, President — would be 60 percent favorable in this kind of an economic…

David Brooks:  And that base, it’s a slow erosion.  It’s a lot slower than I thought, but it’s an erosion.

I cited on the show several weeks ago the FOX News voters are less pro-Trump than they were.  I saw a poll today.  Among white evangelicals dropped — support — favorability for Trump has dropped 17 percent, from 83 percent, down 17 percent.

So that’s an erosion.  And all of this — this porn star stuff, this stuff he says about the countries, that has this slow erosion.  It doesn’t mean they’re fleeing, because what we have in this country is negative polarization.  Nobody likes their own party very much, but they really hate the other party.  So that inhibits it.  But we’re seeing just a steady, slow drip, drip, drip.

POLITICS - The DACA War

IMHO:  NOT fixing DACA is punishing people who where children at the time, for what their parents did.  The same unethical behavior of punishing 'bastard' children for the mistake of a parent.

"How Trump’s reported s***hole comments put DACA talks in jeopardy" PBS NewsHour 1/15/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  What’s the political fallout from President Trump's reported incendiary comments about some immigrants?  Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report and Margaret Talev of Bloomberg News join John Yang to discuss whether it has derailed immigration talks about DACA protections and how Republicans are responding in different ways.

"What’s dividing lawmakers on DACA and threatening a shutdown" PBS NewsHour 1/16/2018

Answer, the Republicans blaming immigrants (in this case those who were children) for all the 'ills' in America.  It is race-bating for political gain.

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  President Trump's reported remarks at a White House meeting last week continue to dominate in the days before a looming government funding deadline.  As senators grilled Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on a specific profanity and President Trump was pressed on a different detail, Congress and the White House try to reassemble talks over DACA.  Lisa Desjardins joins Judy Woodruff.

"[Senate] Republicans say there won’t be a DACA vote this week.  How will Democrats respond?" PBS NewsHour 1/17/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The clock is ticking as lawmakers labor to find a way to keep the federal government running, hitting up against demands for more defense spending and a fix for the expiring DACA program.  Lisa Desjardins and Yamiche Alcindor join Judy Woodruff to discuss where negotiations stand and what the White House wants.

TRUMP TALK - The Racist

IMHO:  It is likely Trump actually believes that he's not racist, but his offhand remarks throughout his life says different. Trump IS a racist.

"On MLK Day, U.S. grapples with furor over Trump’s words" PBS NewsHour 1/15/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  This year's memorials honoring Martin Luther King Jr. came amid the ongoing furor over President Trump's alleged comments and his views on race.  While the President released a video commemorating the civil rights hero, his derogatory words reported last week about African and Haitian immigrants hang in the air, as partisan acrimony threatens hope of a DACA deal.  Judy Woodruff reports.

"Jelani Cobb: ‘It’s impossible to avoid the conclusion that Donald Trump is racist’" PBS NewsHour 1/15/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  President Trump's recent reported use of vulgar language to describe some immigrants has prompted backlash from both the right and left.  It also raises questions about his own personal history on issues of race, and how his perspective affects the nation.  Judy Woodruff gets reaction and analysis from Peter Wehner of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Jelani Cobb of The New Yorker.

Peter Wehner, lifelong Republican: Yes, I do believe that he used these words.  I don’t think there is much question about it.

Republicans like Lindsey Graham have confirmed that he used it.  And this is all part of a piece with him.  This is the latest link in a long, malicious chain for Donald Trump, a chain that’s connected by racist sentiments toward Mexicans, toward Muslims, and toward African-Americans.

In terms of what it says about him and how I interpret it as a lifelong Republican, it’s extremely painful, it’s revealing.  And what it says about Donald Trump and about Trump supporters is that they are racist or that they find great appeal in racist sentiments and expressions of racial division.

You know, Donald Trump is appealing to the worst instincts of America and, unfortunately, his supporters are responding to it.

IMMIGRATION - Bipartisan Deal and Trump's Rejection

"Senators have agreed on a bipartisan immigration deal.  Here’s what’s in it, and why the White House rejects it" PBS NewsHour 1/11/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  A bipartisan group of senators announced on Thursday they have agreed on an immigration deal that would protect so-called “dreamers” and beef up border security.  But President Trump is not yet on board, according to spokesmen who say the proposal needs work.  Meanwhile, the President reportedly used vulgar language in describing immigrants from some countries.  Lisa Desjardins joins Judy Woodruff.

OPINION - Shields and Gerson 9/8/2017

"Shields and Gerson on Trump's deal with Democrats, DACA's demise" PBS NewsHour 9/8/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson join John Yang to discuss the week's news, including President Trump decision to side with leading Democrats in a deal on the debt ceiling and Hurricane Harvey aid, the move to end DACA and whether more moderate Republican lawmakers will retire from Congress.

JOHN YANG (NewsHour):  From hurricanes to wildfires, natural disasters have drawn the country's attention away from the political storms in Washington this week.

But rest assured, we will bring you up to speed now with the analysis of Shields and Gerson.  That's syndicated columnist Mark Shields and Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson.  David Brooks is away.

Gentlemen, welcome to you both.

We had the unusual scene this week of a bipartisan leadership meeting in the Oval Office, and the President cuts off his own treasury secretary as he's making a recommendation and agrees with the opposition party on this debt ceiling, on a short-term C.R.  and Harvey aid.

Michael, what do you make of all this?

MICHAEL GERSON, The Washington Post:  Well, it's just a massive shift.

It wasn't that long ago they were talking about putting the wall on the debt relief.  And so it's a huge change.  I think that, you know, the Art of the Deal is easy when you surrender.  That book wouldn't sell very well, but it's true.

And he signaled surrender, not just on this issue, but somewhat on DACA and somewhat on the whole issue of debt, the debt ceiling, trying to get that out of American politics.  So it was a firestorm for Republicans.  They're wondering, is this the new world?

JOHN YANG:  Mark?

MARK SHIELDS, Syndicated Columnist:  I'm not sure it's the new world, but I am sure that, if I were Mitch McConnell, I would be seething with anger, the Republican Senate leader, because what Donald Trump did to him and to Paul Ryan (the speaker) was cut them off at the knees.

They had to go back to their respective caucuses and tell them, no, they weren't going to take the position that they in fact had endorsed and told them they were going to take on the debt ceiling and the continuing spending resolution, but, in fact, they were going to follow the advice embraced by the President of Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate leader, and Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic Well.

So, if you're McConnell, just taking it from his perspective, he's trying to hold on to a Senate majority going into headwinds of 2018, which doesn't look like a good Republican year, and he's got a President who is not helping him in that sense.  He's got to have something he can point to that the Senate has accomplished.

The last, best hope, or only hope, actually, is probably tax cuts for their supporters and their admirers.  And without the President, he can't do that.  And so he has to bite his tongue, bite his lip, and any other part of his facial extremity that he can and swallow hard, because he just — he was really diminished by this.

MICHAEL GERSON:  Yes, I think we Republican leaders look pathetic, though, in a certain way.

They were livid, according to the reporting, on that three-month debt increase.  They weren't livid on nativism.  They weren't livid on misogyny.  They were not livid on serial lying.

I think that it makes them look like they have kind of a moral center problem, that this is what the final straw is, is a difficulty.  Also, they have given a lot.  They have given their standing.  They have given their — almost their political character for nothing so far.

MARK SHIELDS:  I agree.

MICHAEL GERSON:  I mean, they have literally gotten nothing.  And tax reform may not even happen, and if it happens, it might be a scaled-back version.

So they have give an whole lot for very little in return.

MARK SHIELDS:  You're absolutely right, Michael.

But I would just add that one picture that came out of that meeting of Donald Trump and Chuck Schumer each with their hands on the other's lapels and shoulder, you could almost see them — kind of Trump was in his element, trash-talking to Schumer.  And I knew you.  You were from James Madison High School in Brooklyn, and Schumer to him saying something like, Donald, you're from Jamaica, Queens.  Who are you kidding?

And it's not a continuing relationship, but there's a chemistry there that isn't present with either McConnell or Ryan.  Ryan is a choir boy to Donald Trump.  He's a darling of The Wall Street Journal editorial page.  He's never had a relationship with McConnell.

I agree, but — I agree with what Michael's point is.  What were the words of Charlie Sykes, the Republican talk show host from Wisconsin who's a friend of Paul Ryan's?  He said, quoting “A Man for All Seasons,” Paul, you know, for whales, you have traded your soul, but for a tax cut, you have traded your soul.

And I think there's a lot of truth to that.

MICHAEL GERSON:  He's a diminished figure.

MARK SHIELDS:  Yes.  Yes.

JOHN YANG:  Chuck Schumer, who he called the chief clown, and is now…

(CROSSTALK)

MARK SHIELDS:  Yes, exactly, exactly.

JOHN YANG:  And Mitch McConnell — the President invited the Cabinet and their spouses up to Camp David this weekend.  One Cabinet spouse who declined, Mitch McConnell.

And how much was a shot across the bow at the Democratic — at the Republican leader — sorry — and was it his intent to diminish them?  And how much of this was situational?  He saw a deal he could take with the Democrats, and so he took it?

MARK SHIELDS:  I think it's always the latter with him.

And what was really remarkable was, he was delighted, was the President, in getting favorable reviews in the press that he hates, that he diminishes, that he denigrates on a regular basis, The New York Times, The Washington Post.

And so thrilled was he, he actually called Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to bask in it and tell them the good reviews they were getting.

I mean, no, this is not a matter of strategy or conviction.  It's a matter of…

MICHAEL GERSON:  It's not a violation of his convictions.  I'm not sure he has any.

He has a set of instincts, which are nativist and nationalist.  But I don't think he has a set of economic and political philosophic conventions on spending or a lot of other issues.  So, when he makes this kind of turn, I think it's relatively easy for him.