CNN
By Eric Bradner
August 24, 2015
Scott
Walker on Sunday took his third position within seven days on Donald
Trump's proposal to end birthright citizenship, this time saying he
opposes Trump and supports
the policy.
The
Wisconsin governor and Republican presidential candidate was asked on
ABC's "This Week" whether he backs Trump's push to end the 14th
Amendment's mandate that all
children born in the United States are automatically granted citizenship.
"Well,
I said the law is there. And we need to enforce the laws, including
those that are in the Constitution," Walker said, adding that he favors
addressing illegal immigration
by improving border security and requiring businesses to use a system
called E-Verify to check workers' legal status.
ABC's George Stephanopoulos pressed further, asking: "So you're not seeking to repeal or alter the 14th Amendment?"
"No,"
Walker said. "My point is, any discussion that goes beyond securing the
border and enforcing the laws are things that should be a red flag to
voters out there, who
for years have heard lip service from politicians and are
understandably angry because those politicians haven't been committed to
following through on those promises."
It's a different answer than the one Walker gave Monday at the Iowa State Fair.
Asked by MSNBC's Kasie Hunt whether birthright citizenship should be ended, he said then: "Yeah, absolutely, going forward."
Walker
cited Nevada Democratic Sen. Harry Reid's support for ending the policy
-- in the early 1990s introduced legislation that would have revoked
the 14th Amendment's
guarantee of citizenship for U.S.-born children. Reid has since
reversed that position.
"Yeah,"
he said on Monday at the fair. "To me it's about enforcing the laws in
this country. And I've been very clear, I think
you enforce the laws,
and I think it's important
to send a message that we're going to enforce the laws, no matter how
people come here we're going to enforce the laws in this country."
Then, on Friday, Walker offered another stance -- telling CNBC's John Harwood that he won't weigh in on birthright citizenship.
"I'm not taking a position on it one way or the other," he said in that interview.
The
changing answers come as Walker's standing in polls -- particularly in
Iowa, which his campaign regards as crucial to his chances of winning
the GOP nomination --
has been hurt by the rise of Trump and other outsider candidates, like
retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Hewlett-Packard executive
Carly Fiorina.
Walker
has made an effort to play up his status as an outsider -- a politician
who came up through Milwaukee and Wisconsin politics, with no ties to
Washington.
He
has attempted to avoid confronting Trump directly, saying his own
immigration views are "similar" and launching new broadsides at the
Republican-led Congress in recent
days.
Trump directly attacked Walker on Sunday during his own appearance on ABC's "This Week," citing Wisconsin's budget woes.
"I'm
honored that he wants to copy me and he's a nice man. ... I gave him
campaign contributions when he was running for governor. I like him very
much," Trump said.
"But
his state has not performed well," he said. "We need somebody that's
going to make it perform well, this country perform well."
Given
a chance to respond to Trump Sunday on "This Week," Walker accused the
real estate mogul of making the same arguments Democrats in Wisconsin
have in recent years.
"Those are the same talking points the Democrats used. They didn't work in the past. They're not going to work now," he said.
Then, Walker pivoted to a broader anger represented by Trump's ascent to the top of national GOP polls.
"But
the one thing that I do want to clarify is I do think that there is
some real frustration out there," Walker said. "It's way you not only
see his numbers up, you
see some of the other candidates who have not run for office before.
They're angry at Washington. Heck, I'm angry at Washington. I'm angry at
my own -- my own party leadership, who told us they were going to
repeal Obamacare and we still don't see a bill on
the desk of the President. I think that's where the real frustration
is."
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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