CNN often responds to Trump speeches with bipartisan panels of Trump bashers. On Wednesday's New Day, CNN contributor Marc Short -- a former Director of Legislative Affairs for President Trump -- launched into an attack on CNN's primetime coverage after the speech for inaccurately painting the Democrats as offering concessions on immigration. CNN host Alisyn Camerota spurred the lecture by asking a typical Trump-mocking question on Trump's promises.
ALISYN CAMEROTA: It was funny, you know -- last night, the president's broken his promise that Mexico would pay for the that's over, people -- he doesn't really talk about that anymore. Last night he said "the wall will pay for itself," which I thought was a funny pivot away. And so, again, today, with those Senate Republicans who are getting uncomfortable with the government being shut down, will they move off of the wall? Will they start to finally talk about all of this bigger plan?
MARC SHORT: Well, look, I certainly hope they do, Alisyn. Yesterday on the show we talked about the fact that the administration's asked for more [immigration] judges, and has asked for more ICE agents, asked for additional resources that haven't been provided. And that is the broader message I think he made. And, you know, in all candor, when I was watching all the post-speech coverage from CNN, they were saying these are all things that Democrats support. And that's patently false. It's patently false.
I was in the room when we asked for more judges and Democrats said no. I was in the room when we asked for more ICE agents -- this was before Democrats in the midterm decided they wanted to abolish ICE -- and they said no. I was in the room when we asked for more detention beds and Democrats said no. So, yes, they've supported him before Trump was president but they've opposed every element of that and that's the broader point security message the president should be giving. And I was glad he did it last night.
The surprise here is that Camerota did not flip out over CNN getting criticized on CNN, as one might expect. Maybe being a CNN contributor makes it less offensive? New Day host John Berman pushed Short on what the parameters of a shutdown deal might be, and whether the president won't compromise on the wall.
Here again, Short acknowledged a deal or shutdown talk is centered on the wall, but he went back to hitting the Democrats: "It is centered on the wall, but there's been additional requests for funding that are broader for border security that Democrats have refused. Maybe there's a pathway forward on those elements, John, but so far they've been unwilling to give more detention beds or more funding for ICE agents or more of the funding for immigration."
