The Note: Democratic daydreams of replacing Trump don't help the party's identity

They could prove a distraction the party can’t afford.

By
RICK KLEIN and MARYALICE PARKS
January 9, 2018, 6:33 AM ET
4 min read

— -- The TAKE with Rick Klein

Stories have converged to give simultaneous coverage to Oprah and The Golden Globes, “Fire and Fury” and the 25th Amendment, Tom Steyer and an impeachment plea, and even a physical this week for a certain “very stable genius.”

But Democratic daydreams of end-stage scenarios for the Trump presidency could prove a distraction the party can’t afford.

Focusing on President Donald Trump’s fitness for office means a little less energy expended on what he’s actually doing in office. The wheels of the regulatory state are turning, even as battles loom with broad implications for immigration, spending, and health care.

Speculating about Oprah Winfrey’s presidential prospects doesn’t help Democrats solve their identity crisis, or do anything to slow – much less unwind – the Trump presidency.

Democrats may want to remember the words of Sen. Lindsey Graham. Graham was on “The View” Monday, and recalled referring to candidate Trump as “a xenophobic, race-baiting, religious bigot.”

“Guess what,” Graham continued. “He’s our president.”

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

It can be hard to play the game if the rules keep changing.

While perhaps the Trump administration’s decision to discontinue Temporary Protective Status for many El Salvadorans in the country should have not surprised bipartisan negotiators working on immigration deals this week, it definitely threw the lives of another 262,000 human beings into the mix.

The Trump administration has been consistently ending these temporary programs as deadlines come up, but the deadlines themselves are largely arbitrary and the White House could have easily punted and extended this one (as other Rs and Ds have in the past) while deal-making regarding the future of DREAMers continues and looks to be pushed to the brink.

Today's meeting at the White House is the first time the president's team has signaled the commander-in-chief is meeting with a group of bipartisan members to specifically discuss immigration legislation.

Democrats could use this latest move to demand other White House concessions or maybe the other way around. Maybe putting another piece of immigration policy on the table encourages everyone to back away from the notion of something comprehensive right now and instead focus selectively on DREAMers and border security.

Either way, the timing means the lives of thousands of people who live in the U.S. currently will likely be used as bargaining chips. If not now, then down the road.

The TIP with Ali Rogin

With only eight working days left to avoid yet another government shutdown, Democrats and Republicans at tomorrow’s White House meeting will attempt to jolt the virtual standstill over negotiations to fund the government—as well as score a deal on DREAMers.

Leaders are trying to achieve a funding deal that sets spending caps, reauthorizes the Children's Health Insurance Program, does disaster funding and deals with DACA.

Here's where both sides are digging in their heels right now:Republicans: Spending caps. Democrats are insistent that spending levels for both military and domestic expenses be raised the same amount. Republicans argue that this notion of "parity" is a non-starter and that military spending should not trigger equal spending amounts on the domestic side. And of course, it's hard to move any of the other pieces on the chessboard if you haven't established spending levels. This issue seems to be a matter of who blinks first.

Democrats: Wall funding. Many Democrats think the Department of Homeland Security’s expected request for $18 billion in wall funding poisoned the well for discussions over DACA. But they're curious as to whether this is really the number Trump is pushing for, or whether it's just an opening flare from the president behind “The Art of the Deal.” Democrats will head into today’s meeting trying to feel the administration out and looking for room to negotiate.

While today’s meeting might not lead to a hashed-out, bipartisan deal, it will provide a better sense of where the parties and the White House are digging in their trench lines.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

  • President Donald Trump, in addition to his session this morning with bipartisan members of Congress on immigration, meets this afternoon with Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
  • Trump will also sign an executive order today focused on veterans and the transition back to civilian life.
  • The Senate has a busy day of hearings. The Senate Foreign Relations committee will hold a hearing on the alleged attacks on U.S. diplomats in Cuba in the morning while the Senate Finance committee will hold a hearing for the nomination of Alex Azar to be Secretary of Health and Human Services -- a replacement for Tom Price after the former secretary resigned amid scandal over taxpayer-funded travel.
  • The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee will hear from Sam Quinones, a journalist and author who has covered America’s opioid epidemic, in a hearing today on the crisis.
  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will hold a press conference after a luncheon with Sens. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. and Patty Murray, D-Wash.

    • QUOTE OF THE DAY

    QUOTE OF THE DAY"Just saw @Oprah's empowering & inspiring speech at last night’s #GoldenGlobes. Let’s all come together, women & men, & say #TIMESUP! #United" -- Ivanka Trump tweeted along with a video of Oprah’s acceptance speech for the 2018 Cecil B. de Mille award, showing Trump’s support of the Time’s Up movement to protect women from sexual harassment.

    NEED TO READ

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  • North Korea will send Olympic team to South as countries hold high-level talks. Officials from North Korea accepted South Korea's offer and will send athletes to next month's Winter Olympics as the two sides began long-anticipated talks on Tuesday. South Korea proposed the two countries march together in the Opening Ceremonies, a point which will be further debated Tuesday afternoon. (Joohee Cho) http://abcn.ws/2Db3xoo
  • Inside the 'Truce Village' between North and South Korea. It is the place where North meets South, where two technically still-warring countries meet face-to-face to both protect their borders and, hopefully, build better cooperation and communication: the small "Truce Village" of Panmunjom, the heart of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea. (Sarah Kolinovsky) http://abcn.ws/2CSInO8
  • Mitt Romney successfully treated last summer for prostate cancer. Speculation has continued to grow in recent months that Romney, who unsuccessfully ran for president against Barack Obama in 2012, will mount a bid for the U.S. Senate in Utah in 2018 following the announcement that longtime Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch is not seeking re-election. (John Verhovek) http://abcn.ws/2qDMyIU
  • Lindsey Graham takes a dig at Trump over 'genius' claim. Sen. Lindsey Graham took a dig at President Donald Trump during an appearance on "The View" today, saying that the reason why Trump calls himself smart is "if he doesn't call himself a genius nobody else will." (Meghan Keneally) http://abcn.ws/2CTC6mh
  • Families anxious over fate after DHS ends special immigration status. Cristian Chavez Guevara doesn't have a plan. For the father of three and his family -- two stepdaughters, ages 12 and 11, and a 15-year-old cousin he has raised as his own, -- he does not know what comes next, after the Trump administration said it would terminate his legal status-- known as Temporary Protected Status. (Conor Finnegan) http://abcn.ws/2CFJI7B
  • Firefighter among 3 injured in Trump Tower rooftop fire Secret Service spotted. At around 7 a.m., about 70 firefighters rushed to the apex of the Fifth Avenue Trump Tower skyscraper at 57th Street in midtown Manhattan to put out the blaze, fire officials said. (Adam Kelsey) http://abcn.ws/2m8sFE5
  • Along the North Korean border, villages ice fish and live under amid ongoing nuclear tension. Just before talks between North and South Korea, the first such talks in two years, Hwacheon, a city in the South, is welcoming tens of thousands for its annual ice fishing festival. But the threat of nuclear war is never far away. (Sarah Kolinovsky) http://abcn.ws/2D6ZMjM
  • Why a suburban Midwest dad started a Draft Oprah 2020 PAC. In October 2017, A.J. Stevens, a 47 year old father from Baldwin City, Kansas, had an idea he wanted to run by his wife, Carrie. “You’re going to tell me I’m crazy. I’m thinking about starting a PAC for Oprah,” Stevens said he told his wife on the couch in their living room. (Meridith McGraw) http://abcn.ws/2D8P4ZX
  • The Miami Herald does a deep dive on the alleged attacks against diplomats in Cuba and reports that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will soon weigh in on U.S. response. http://hrld.us/2D9UFPN
  • The White House is considering Andy Puzder, President Donald Trump’s first pick for labor secretary who dropped out of the confirmation process in February amid allegations of domestic abuse, for a job with the administration, Politico reports. http://politi.co/2mc5rOn

    • The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.