New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman once likened President Trump’s election to 9/11 and Pearl Harbor but he said Democrats should nonetheless adopt some of the positions he successfully campaigned on, including some on immigration.
“We can’t take in every immigrant who wants to come here,” Friedman wrote in an op-ed published Tuesday night. “We need, metaphorically speaking, a high wall that assures Americans we can control our border with a big gate that lets as many people in legally as we can effectively absorb as citizens.”
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Trump last week backed a Republican bill that would sharply reduce legal immigration and prioritize admitting foreigners who know English and have a skill that makes them more likely to get a job once they arrive.
Friedman said immigration is one example of how Trump was able to speak to issues during the campaign that were popular among voters outside of his base, thus securing him enough votes to win. He said Democrats could learn to do the same.
“His genius was expanding beyond that nativist core with just enough votes in the right places to get him over the top — by pushing other buttons,” he said. “These were things that many conservative and centrist voters believe in their guts, even if they don’t articulate them.”
A new poll showed that a majority of Americans support the idea of creating a merit-based system for immigrants, though it has faced intense criticism from congressional Democrats and liberal commentators.
The New York Times editorial board on Monday called the bill “senseless.”
