Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:46 pm
DNC Chair Tom Perez took back patriotism for the rest of the country and revealed the un-Americanness of Trump’s immigrant rhetoric during an interview on MSNBC.
Video:
This is why the immigration issue is a big winner for Democrats. Republicans are delusional if they believe that this ends well for them. https://t.co/cqYy2CFMMk #p2 #ctl #dreamers pic.twitter.com/FtJnd0hnOl
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— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 9, 2018
Transcript:
Hallie Jackson: When I talk with Republican strategists, people inside the GOP and my sort of day job as a white house reporter there is talk that, hey, Democrats may be making a messaging miscalculation here. Are you at all concerned that the DEMs could be painted as a party fighting for undocumented immigrants instead of fighting more broadly for the American people?
Tom Perez: We’re fighting for Dreamers serving our U.S. Army, we’re fighting for dreamers who were first responders down in Hurricane Harvey. In one case made the ultimate sacrifice. We’re fighting for the basic notion that we are a nation of immigrants. And when I see these unconscionable efforts to paint Dreamers and MS-13 in the same sentence, that is dog whistle politics at its worst. And I’m proud to be a Democrat. And I’m proud to be fighting for dreamers. And I’m proud of what Nancy Pelosi did earlier this week.
Perez hit the nail on the head. The vast majority of Americans recoil at the notion that the United States should not be the land of opportunity for immigrants. When Trump starts talking about limiting immigration based on skin color, that’s un-American. It was nice to see some Democratic pride and to hear a leader be on the offensive.
Democrats know that Trump and the Republicans are playing a losing hand on immigration, but Trump’s racist characterization of immigrants has given Democrats and the non-Trump supporting rest of the country an opportunity to take back and define patriotism as equality and opportunity.
Republicans don’t want to be talking about immigration, and they are deluding themselves if they believe that this conversation hurts Democrats. The fight for Dreamers is firing up the Democratic coalition in 2018 and beyond. Diversity is on the side of Democrats, and the longer this conversation about immigration lasts, the worse it ends for Republicans.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
