Senate Dem: Bipartisanship difficult with president who ‘inflames’ disagreements

Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) said during an interview early Monday that bipartisanship on Capitol Hill is made more difficult by a president who “inflames” disagreements instead of tamping them down.

“It’s disappointing that this has dissolved into a fight over who said what at that meeting,” Coons said on CNN’s “New Day” during a discussion about President Trump’s reported use of the phrase “shithole countries” to describe Haiti, El Salvador and some African nations at a White House meeting with lawmakers.

{mosads}“What matters more is what we do next because it’s going to get even harder now for us to come together and reach any sort of an agreement on DACA,” he said, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Trump last year decided to end the Obama-era program, which protects certain immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation, but gave Congress time to work out a solution for recipients.

“We’ve got a federal government that shuts down … this Friday, if we can’t come to an agreement,” Coons added.

“And it’s just getting harder when we have a president who rather than tamping down our distances and disagreements, fans them and inflames them.”

Coons also told CNN that he doubts that a motion to censure Trump will pass in either Republican-controlled chamber.

“This is not the first time the president has said something that has taken us badly off track or that speaks to the worst of America’s historic, negative impulses and it, frankly, probably won’t be the last time,” he added.