-The president gave a speech on Saturday
about the government shutdown and offered an immigration deal
that both Democrats and hard-line conservatives
have rejected.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]
President Trump's speech on Saturday
was mostly just a collection of the same debunked talking points
he's been repeating for weeks.
And as usual, he spent the whole time
sucking in air like he was running a marathon.
Here are some highlights.
-[ Breathing heavily ]
[ Laughter ]
-Good Lord!
That sounded like the first 20 minutes
of a movie about Pablo Escobar.
[ Laughter ]
Maybe Trump is laboring
because he knows every time he gives one of these speeches,
it gets harder and harder to convince people.
On Saturday, for example, he floated a new proposal.
In exchange for wall money, he would offer temporary extensions
for recipients of two programs that protect immigrants
known as DACA and TPS.
And not only did Democrats reject it,
but so did hard-line conservatives.
Right-wing pundit Ann Coulter tweeted,
"Trump proposes amnesty. We voted for Trump and got Jeb."
Wow.
She compared him to Jeb Bush, his nemesis from the primaries.
Trump prides himself on being a master negotiator.
Here is actual footage
of Jeb Bush's most successful negotiation.
-Please clap.
[ Laughter ]
-But, of course, the guy's --
The comparison is unfair. It's ridiculous.
I mean, it's not like Trump has ever asked a crowd
to give him a standing ovation.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Get up.
-Oh, my God.
It's happening! He's turning into Jeb.
Soon he's going to start wearing glasses
and getting trapped in his own hoodie.
[ Laughter ]
Even Trump's speeches are low-energy now.
When he runs for re-election in 2020,
the primary debates are just going to be a split screen
of him making faces at himself.
-That is our plan.
Border security, DACA, TPS, and many other things.
-Now, we are living in a very surreal time
where people like Ann Coulter
have tremendous sway over the president.
In December, Trump was going to give up on the wall
until Coulter called him a gutless
and a vulgar publicity hound.
He then went to try to win her back.
Trump shut down the government.
And once again, after Coulter insulted him
and called the deal amnesty,
Trump scrambled to make her happy by tweeting,
"No, amnesty is not a part of my offer."
Man, why is he so subservient to her?
Does she have a different pee tape?
[ Laughter ]
Here's the thing. Trump's proposal is not amnesty.
It's not even a reasonable deal.
And there's no reason to believe he'll follow through on it.
Remember, we've been down this road many times with him.
And every time, he's reneged on his promises.
As early as February 2017,
he said he wanted to protect DREAMers,
the young undocumented immigrants
brought here as children,
and that he would be open to a bill
that would give them permanent legal status.
-On the DACA program for immigration, what is your plan?
Do you plan to continue that program or to end it?
-We're going to show great heart.
DACA is a very, very difficult subject for me, I will tell you.
To me, it's one of the most difficult subjects I have,
because you have these incredible kids.
We are going to deal with DACA with heart.
The DACA situation is a very, very --
It's a very difficult thing for me.
Because, you know, I love these kids.
I love kids.
I have kids.
-"I have kids!
I have kids.
I've only ever tried to deport two of them.
[ Laughter ]
Sorry, boys. Back to Transylvania."
[ Laughter ]
That was in February 2017.
In September, Trump canceled the program.
Then in January,
he told lawmakers he was open to a compromise.
And then two days after that,
he completely changed his mind again.
And even Republican senator Lindsey Graham,
who brokered the compromise
and has become one of Trump's closest allies in Congress,
was stunned by Trump's sudden change of heart.
-Tuesday we had a president that I was proud to golf with,
call my friend,
who understood immigration had to be bipartisan.
You had to have border security. It's essential.
You have border security with the wall,
but he also understood the idea
that we had to do it with compassion.
Now, I don't know where that guy went.
I want him back.
-Oh! Why did he suddenly change his mind out of nowhere?
Because he's President Werewolf!
Except he's a werewolf 29 days a month
and then there's a full moon,
he turns into a human, and you can talk to him.
And then all you dummies celebrate
because you think it's permanent.
Then the full moon goes away,
and he goes back to chasing you through the woods.
[ Laughter ]
You can't negotiate with someone who doesn't know anything,
who changes his mind constantly,
and who lives in fear of Ann Coulter's Twitter account.
There's really only one person
who can end this shutdown right now,
and that's Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The Senate has already passed a bill to keep the government open
with no strings attached.
All McConnell has to do is pass that same bill again
and override the president's veto,
and the government would open up immediately,
which is why a group of freshmen Democrats,
led by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
showed up in his office last week
demanding to know what he was doing.
-We have voted repeatedly, over and over again,
to reopen the government.
We went to his office in the Capitol.
We went to his office here in the Russell Building.
We went to the floor. -To the cloakroom.
-We went to the cloakroom. He's not in the cloakroom.
He's not in the Capitol.
He's not in the Russell Building.
He's not in the floor of the Senate,
and 800,000 people don't have their paychecks.
So where's Mitch?
-I mean -- Yeah.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Although I will say, if you're ever wondering where's Mitch,
just go down to the marsh and check the lily pads.
[ Laughter ]
We've been down this road with Trump before.
And there's no reason to trust him
any more than we have in the past.
The Senate could pass a bill right now
to reopen the government.
In the meantime, millions of people are needlessly suffering,
and all the president has to say to them is...
-[ Breathing heavily ]
-This has been "A Closer Look."
[ Cheers and applause ]