Fox Business Network host and ardent Trump defender Lou Dobbs cooled on the President briefly during his show on Monday night, warning that Trump needs to remember his base’s views on immigration and guns or he risks his reelection.
Discussing President Trump’s recent focus on cuts to legal immigration and an offer of compromise on gun control legislation, Dobbs reminded viewers that Trump’s base is “expecting a wall” and “expecting illegal immigration to be stopped.”
“This is not going well. And I absolutely believe this is a historic president, that this man is doing things that were unimaginable even 10 years ago which he is achieving,” Dobbs said. “But my God. November 2020 is nearing at an alarming rate, somebody’s advising him in most peculiar — and I think antithetical to his interest — manner.”
“If this president forgets who his base is and listens to some of these folks advising him to illegal immigration, the wall, and gun control, and jobs, and visas, and the American worker, it’s gonna be a dandy of an election,” Dobbs added later.
Lou Dobbs warns Trump should listen to his base on immigration and guns pic.twitter.com/P9qrjQqx1i
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) August 13, 2019
Following two deadly mass shootings last week that left more than 30 people dead, President Trump announced publicly that he wanted Congress to take on background check legislation when it returns from August recess. He said he wanted lawmakers to tackle both gun reform legislation and an immigration bill at the same time as a means of compromise between Democrats and Republicans.
The Trump administration also rolled out a plan on Monday that would discourage legal immigration by penalizing immigrants with legal status who use public benefits.
