NEWS AND OPINION:
Mark Morgan, who was chief of the U.S. Border Patrol during the Obama administration, says he completely backs President Trump’s plans for a border wall and other security measures.
“I agree 100 percent with what the president is trying to do with all things related to border security,” Mr. Morgan told Fox News host Neil Cavuto on Saturday.
“This is not based on political ideology. It is based on 30 years of governmental service. I am telling you this is a national security and humanitarian crisis on the southwest border,” said Mr. Morgan, who served in the FBI for two decades.
He also said if the public were to investigate for themselves, they would see that the “same language” Mr. Trump uses about the need for the wall and increased security was used by politicians on both sides of the aisle in the past. He deemed contemporary arguments against the wall “absurd.”
Mr. Morgan also called Mr. Trump’s descriptions of the current border crisis as “absolutely correct,” and said that the long standing strategy of infrastructure, technology and personnel — a multilayered approach which includes a wall — still works.
He has asserted this elsewhere.
“We need to do it all, including the wall,” he told the Law & Order Network last week. “I’m here today breaking my silence to tell the American people that the president is correct in what he’s doing. The wall works.”
Asked if he was encouraged by the White House to share his views and Mr. Morgan simply replied, “I’m doing this on my own for one reason. I’m a patriot.”
POLL FINDINGS ON TRUMP WARM UP
With the news media squarely in the Democratic Party’s corner, it’s not easy to sway negative public opinion about President Trump. Nevertheless, there’s evidence that the big chill may be waning. Positive feelings about an improved southwestern border wall are on the rise according to an ABC News/Washington Post survey released Sunday.
Support has increased to 42 percent, up from 34 percent a year ago. Opposition, at 54 percent, is down from 63 percent a year ago. That support has increased in 17 out of 19 demographics in the poll, ranging from an increase of 1 percentage point among liberals to 16 points among Republicans, 14 points among Midwesterners and 13 points among the “college-educated.” Opinions did not improve among Democrats and Northeastern U.S. residents.
Meanwhile, a new Rasmussen Reports survey finds 41 percent of U.S. voters now say that the Democratic Party should “do more of what Trump wants,” up from 29 percent in a survey conducted in January 2017. Another 48 percent say that the president should do what Congress wants, down from 56 percent in the prior survey.
These are not landmark findings. But they suggest that attitudes toward Mr. Trump and Democratic “resistance” are beginning to change.
GET BACK TO WORK
A veteran political observer now warns the Democratic Party to stop harassing President Trump and get back to business.
“Results not resistance. That’s what I think the American public was expecting when they brought Democrats back into power in the House. But instead, echoing Hillary Clinton’s ill-fated 2016 strategy, the Democratic leaders so far have fully planted a flag in simply opposing legislation, funding and appointments under the theory that putting lead boots on President Trump is the best way to get him out of office, even if the country is put on pause for another two years. This is a fundamental mistake,” wrote Mark Penn in a Fox News op-ed published Saturday.
He was chief strategist for both Bill Clinton and Mrs. Clinton during their presidential campaigns.
“The idea that a few billion dollars for more walls, fences and border security rises to that moral level is overdone, especially since the Democrats supported nearly 600 miles of barriers across California not long ago. This is about politics, not policy. About the partisan bases, not the swing voters. And everybody knows it,” Mr. Penn said, also citing newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat.
“Rather than being overshadowed by the Ocasio-Cortez show, the Democrats have an opportunity to realign the mainstream suburbs here on a longer-term basis if they become the party of action and fair compromise. They can be the ones who point fingers and fight over who caused the shutdown or they can be the leaders who stepped up, were bigger and ended it for the good of the country. The choice should be an easy one,” Mr. Penn wrote.
WARREN’S PUSH FOR D.C. STATEHOOD
“Now that Democrats are back in charge, the House is getting ready to vote to make D.C. a state. And Elizabeth Warren will keep fighting to make sure it becomes law. D.C. residents pay federal taxes, serve in the military, and live under the laws set by Congress,” says the Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential candidate — who has launched a public petition in support of D.C. statehood.
“Give D.C. two senators and a House member and make it the 51st state,” she says in her pitch.
“The nearly 700,000 people in who live in D.C. — greater than the populations of Wyoming or Vermont — can’t fully participate in debates in Congress that shape their future,” Ms. Warren advises. “D.C. statehood gets at the heart of our democracy. It’s one of the principles we founded our country on: No taxation without representation.”
POLL DU JOUR
• 33 percent of Americans say Congress should not begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump; 61 percent of Republicans, 29 percent of independents and 11 percent of Democrats agree.
• 23 percent overall say impeachment should be a “top priority”; 6 percent of Republicans, 22 percent of independents and 39 percent of Democrats agree.
• 19 percent overall don’t know; 23 percent of Republicans, 26 percent of independents and 9 percent of Democrats agree.
• 16 percent overall say impeachment should be a “lower priority”; 6 percent of Republicans, 13 percent of independents and 27 percent of Democrats agree.
• 10 percent overall say impeachment is “not too important a priority”; 5 percent of Republicans, 10 percent of independents and 13 percent of Democrats agree.
Source: A Politico/Morning Consult poll of 1,989 registered U.S. voters conducted Jan. 4-6.
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• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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