Trump still digging in on immigration. But public opinion and the midterm scoreboard aren't with him

Jan. 7, 2019 / 8:59 AM EST

By Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann

WASHINGTON — As we enter Day 17 of the government shutdown, President Trump isn’t budging on his demands for more than $5 billion in border wall funding, and Democrats are panning his offer to build it from steel rather than concrete.

But amid the noise of his daily repetition of the same demands for a border wall — and the daily coverage of the negotiations over how the impasse could end — it’s important not to obscure the larger truth here: Trump hasn’t been winning on the immigration issue, at the ballot box or in public opinion polls.

Remember, Trump spent the final weeks of the 2018 campaign making aggressive moves to mobilize his base with the immigration issue. He:

Deployed active-duty troops to the southern border

Issued dark warnings about “the caravan” of migrants and the "criminals" approaching the United States

Floated ending birthright citizenship with an executive order

Tweeted a video featuring an unrepentant, twice-deported Mexican immigrant who was convicted of killing two law enforcement officers, prompting comparisons to the infamous Willie Horton ads in 1988.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/trump-still-digging-immigration-public-opinion-midterm-scoreboard-aren-t-n955621