Trump is getting his immigration policy from people on Fox News who are telling him ideas that are impractical, illegal, or unconstitutional.
Axios reported that Trump had made DHS Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen his immigration scapegoat, “Since then, she’s taken on an unforgiving role: having to shoot down the president’s frequently unvetted immigration enforcement ideas (including a recent suggestion to send active duty military — not simply National Guard — to the border.) A senior administration source said some of Trump’s unvetted ideas are coming from people outside the White House, including Fox News personalities. The source added that Nielsen fully supports the president on the wall and on closing loopholes, but often had to be “Ms. No.†Trump was being fed legally unvetted ideas that would look flashy on TV but are of dubious operational value.”
Trump isn’t just taking cues from Fox News. Fox is his shadow cabinet
The idea that Trump was getting his ideas from watching Fox News was bad enough, but it turns out that it was even worse than many Americans suspected. People who talk on Fox News for a living who mostly have no government experience at all are acting as a shadow cabinet for Trump. Presidents often turn to outside advisers when they want a different point of view, but Trump is ignoring the people that he chose to serve in his cabinet and has made people with no qualifications his de facto cabinet.
If Trump was just listening to Fox News as his source of information, there are ways around that problem, but if Trump is turning to let’s say Sean Hannity for immigration advice that is a much more difficult problem.
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Trump is not only governing as seen on TV. He is allowing people who play politics on television to advise him on running the country.
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
