AP
July 21, 2015
Donald Trump's incendiary comments — and the GOP response — are proving political gold for Democrats.
Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid jumped on both Tuesday, first attacking
Trump for his criticism of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., then pivoting to a
larger target: the growing
GOP presidential field and the entire Republican Party.
Reid,
D-Nev., noted that while Trump's GOP White House rivals were nearly
unanimous in denouncing Trump's suggestion that McCain is not really a
war hero, they were more
tentative in responding to his criticisms of Mexican immigrants as
"criminals" and "rapists."
"There
is an ugly truth behind that silence, and it is this: When it comes to
immigration policy, there is no meaningful difference between the
Republican Party and Donald
Trump," Reid asserted.
Republicans
want to insert considerable distinctions between themselves and Trump.
Responding to him only emboldens him, several in the GOP acknowledged
Tuesday.
For
his part, McCain told fellow Senate Republicans in their private weekly
lunch on Tuesday that he's finished commenting on Trump's provocations.
"John
stood up and basically said, 'I'm not going to respond to Donald
Trump,'" recalled Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind. The caucus, Coats and other
Republicans said, gave McCain
a round of applause.
Reid,
meanwhile, went on to say that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Texas Sen.
Ted Cruz, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Wisconsin Gov. Scott
Walker, noting that all
oppose a pathway to citizenship for immigrants in this country
illegally.
"So
while the rest of the Republican presidential hopefuls may not engage
in the same repugnant rhetoric, make no mistake about it - they are all
on the same page with
Donald Trump," Reid said. "I ask each Republican running for president:
Name one difference between your immigration policy and Trump's
immigration policy. Given recent history, all I expect is a deafening
silence."
Reid's comments followed similar criticism from other Democrats, including presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Clinton,
in Arkansas this past weekend, said of Trump's comments: "It's
shameful, and so is the fact that it took so long for his fellow
Republican candidates to start
standing up to him. The sad truth is if you look at many of their
policies, it can be hard to tell the difference."
Trump
has defended his comments on immigrants and on McCain, who spent five
years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Trump said he likes people who
weren't captured.
Immigration
is a perennially tricky issue for Republicans, which may help explain
why some of the presidential candidates have been cautious in their
response to Trump
on that issue. Indeed Cruz has been outspoken in praising Trump on
immigration.
That
prompted Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., to snipe over Twitter: "There's
something unseemly about Cruz following Trump around like a lost puppy,
hoping to get his leftovers
when he finally flames out."
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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