The Duce a fountain of confusion

Trump Appears to Endorse Path to Citizenship for Millions of Immigrants

The president said that, in his mind, a "clean" DACA bill would be the opposite of clean, as it would have to include border security, and that in turn would have to include his wall.

But he was open to a deal to do them separately, first DACA and then border security.

And when Lindsey Graham floated the idea that a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegals in the country would have to be part of comprehensive immigration reform The Duce, who campaigned on mass deportation, said he would accept that, or indeed any deal "the people in this room" - congressional Democratic and Republican leaders - would ask him to sign.

Mr. Trump’s call for a comprehensive solution came just after Mr. Graham had said he was a proponent of “a pathway to citizenship for 11 million people,” and then predicted “a drumbeat” of vitriol against such an approach. 

“Right-wing radio and talk show hosts are going to beat the crap out of us,” he said “It’s going to be ‘amnesty’ all over again.”

Mr. Trump seemed almost to relish such a fight.

“My whole life has been heat,” he shrugged. “I like heat, in a certain way.”

The deal, he said, in a spirit of cooperation and compromise, could include parts that he personally didn't like, if that's what these folks came up with.

But the outrage was immediate on the anti-immigration Trumpist right, insisting exactly as Graham had said that allowing any path to citizenship was "amnesty" and rejecting it angrily.

Still, the general impression among journos seems to be that he was all over the map at that meeting, sewing confusion among those present by displays of his own.

Trump contradicts self repeatedly in immigration meeting

At one point, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, suggested to Trump that Congress could pass the "Dream Act" alone, which would provide a path to citizenship for DACA recipients and which has been Democrats' starting point demand, and then turn to comprehensive reform.

When Trump indicated he would agree to that, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said border security would have to be part of the package, prompting Trump to say that's what he thought Feinstein meant, and then a flurry of clarifications.

Trump said his version of a "clean" deal would include DACA, border security, ending "chain migration" or family-based migration, and ending the diversity visa lottery. 

But those issues are commonly thought to only be achievable in a comprehensive immigration deal.
Trump then both endorsed doing comprehensive immigration reform sooner and later.