--- title: Donald Trump Immigration: Conservatives Upset By 'Softening' description: Donald Trump's new "softening" of his immigration stance may be welcome news to most Americans, but it's left some conservatives furious. canonical: https://time.com/4468220/donald-trump-immigration-conservatives-upset/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-26T15:15:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:30.931Z article:section: Politics og:title: Conservatives Upset By Trump's Immigration 'Softening' og:description: "Can you imagine what it’s like to be Jeb Bush today?" og:url: https://time.com/4468220/donald-trump-immigration-conservatives-upset/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38ad4d7ff3983f1f/6988a38a5f570f92e8b224b5/donald-trump-florida-attorney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2526 og:image:height: 1421 og:image:alt: US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-TRUMP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Conservatives Upset By Trump's Immigration 'Softening' twitter:description: "Can you imagine what it’s like to be Jeb Bush today?" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38ad4d7ff3983f1f/6988a38a5f570f92e8b224b5/donald-trump-florida-attorney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:50 video:published: 2016-08-10 section: politics topics: Republican presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine, Second Amendment, judicial appointments, campaign rally, political attacks genre: speech, campaign rally tones: combative, mocking, defiant, boastful emotions: anger (high), contempt (high), pride (medium), fear (low) sentiment: negative audience: voters, political observers, gun rights supporters, Republican party supporters people: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine organizations: Republican party content_suitability: politics [00:00-02:50]; hate [00:37-00:45]; profanity [00:16-00:25] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Conservatives Upset By Donald Trump's Immigration 'Softening' > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=3b65d97d-c8d4-4bb5-b031-b10f1449d4d6&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump's Meltdown [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump's Meltdown](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZnrBU8IB.m3u8) (2:50)  _Published 2016-08-10. Following his acceptance of the presidential nomination for the Republican party, Donald Trump has made a number of political gaffes._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary Donald Trump, speaking after accepting the Republican presidential nomination, delivers a rambling speech that attacks Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine. He mocks Clinton's middle name and her sleep habits, and claims Kaine made a deal with the devil while his wife stood silently. He also argues Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment and warns that her judicial picks would be a horrible outcome for gun owners. ## Key points - Trump opens by humbly and gratefully accepting his nomination for the presidency of the United States. (00:00) - Trump asks why Hillary Clinton got rid of her middle name and calls her 'Hillary Rotten Clinton'. (00:11) - Trump says Clinton will go home and take a nap for four or five hours, and states that he does not take naps. (00:16) - Trump says Tim Kaine did a terrible job in New Jersey and was not very popular there after being asked for a $4 billion tax increase. (00:25) - Trump says Kaine's wife stood by silently and claims Kaine 'made a deal with the devil', calling her 'the devil'. (00:37) - Trump claims thousands of people outside were turned away from an event purely for political reasons. (00:45) - Trump claims Clinton wants to essentially abolish the Second Amendment. (00:53) - Trump says that if Clinton gets to pick judges, 'nothing you can do folks', and calls that outcome a horrible day for Second Amendment supporters. (01:05) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:11] Accepting the presidential nomination. Trump opens by accepting the Republican presidential nomination and then turns to Hillary Clinton's middle name. - [00:11 to 00:25] Attacks on Clinton's name and sleep. Trump mocks Clinton's middle name and says she naps while he does not. - [00:25 to 00:45] Attacks on Tim Kaine and his wife. Trump criticizes Tim Kaine's record in New Jersey and says he made a deal with the devil while his wife stood silent. - [00:45 to 01:05] Claims on rally turnout and gun rights. Trump claims people were turned away from an event for political reasons and argues Clinton would abolish the Second Amendment. - [01:05 to 02:50] Warning about Clinton's judicial picks. Trump says Clinton's judge picks would be a horrible day for Second Amendment supporters, with applause from the crowd. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Donald Trump: "I humbly and gratefully accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States." - [00:16] Donald Trump: "No naps for Trump! No nap! I don't take naps!" - [00:37] Donald Trump: "He made a deal with the devil. She's the devil." - [00:53] Donald Trump: "Hillary wants to abolish, essentially abolish the second amendment." - [01:05] Donald Trump: "nothing you can do folks." ## Questions this video answers - Does Donald Trump take naps? [00:16] - How does Trump assess Tim Kaine's record in New Jersey? [00:25] - What does Trump say about Tim Kaine's wife at the event? [00:37] - What does Trump claim Hillary Clinton wants to do regarding the Second Amendment? [00:53] - What does Trump say would happen if Clinton picks the judges? [01:05] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-02:50]: Partisan campaign speech attacking political opponents throughout. - hate [00:37-00:45]: Describes the opposing running mate as 'the devil' and mocks his wife. - profanity [00:16-00:25]: Nickname-based insults and harsh personal criticism of political opponents.  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Aug 26, 2016 3:15 PM UTC  Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks on stage during a campaign rally in Austin, Texas, August 23, 2016. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks on stage during a campaign rally in Austin, Texas, August 23, 2016. AFP—AFP/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Aug 26, 2016 3:15 PM UTC Donald Trump’s new [“softening”](http://time.com/4463874/donald-trump-softening-immigration-position/?iid=sr-link1) of his hardline immigration stance may put him more in line with the [views of most Americans](http://time.com/4464831/donald-trump-mexico-wall-election-poll/?iid=sr-link1), but it’s left some conservatives furious. “There certainly can be a softening because we’re not looking to hurt people,” Trump said of his immigration plan this week. “We want people—we have some great people in this country.” Previously Trump has called to build a border wall and use a “deportation force” to remove 11 million undocumented immigrants. Some Republicans are upset with Trump because they support him and feel betrayed on his signature issue; other conservatives didn’t like Trump in the first place and point to this as evidence of his dishonesty. Trump’s team is struggling to maintain that he hasn’t actually changed his position: spokesperson Katrina Pierson told CNN, “He hasn’t changed his position. He has changed the words he is saying.” Here’s a look at some of the people upset with Trump over the comment. **Ann Coulter** Trump’s comments came at an unfortunate time for the conservative commentator—she published a book called “In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome!” that came out the same day. On page 3 of the book, she wrote, “There’s nothing Trump can do that won’t be forgiven. Except change his immigration policies.” Coulter has taken to Twitter and media in recent days to air her frustration with the candidate, tweeting sarcastically about his comments: > [](https://twitter.com/AnnCoulter/status/768663835377078273) “I don’t know who he’s getting it from, but the idea that his base is not going to mind is nonsense. And the idea that it helps him with anyone is nonsense,” Coulter [then told ABC](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ann-coulter-criticizes-donald-trumps-immigration-plan-blames/story?id=41659327). “I am trying to encourage Donald Trump to dump whomever the moron is who told him Americans are staying up at night worried about how people who broke our laws entering, broke our laws staying here, broke our laws taking jobs, how comfortable they are.” Coulter has said she is still supporting Trump. **Rush Limbaugh** Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh found the humor in the situation. He couldn’t stop laughing during [a segment of his show](http://www.mediaite.com/online/rush-limbaugh-literally-cant-stop-laughing-at-the-plight-of-ann-coulter/) Thursday describing the irony of Trump’s backpedal. “Can you imagine what it’s like to be Jeb Bush today? Who knew,” he said, breaking into laughter. “First they tried Marco Rubio. They tried the Gang of Eight. They tried Jeb Bush… They tried everybody they could think of to try to convince the Republican base to support some form of amnesty for illegal immigrants. … Who knew that it would be Donald Trump to come out and convert the GOP base to supporting amnesty the same week Ann Coulter’s book comes out? Poor Ann!” **Ed Rollins** The head of the pro-Trump Great America PAC was blunt on Fox News, saying, “He did stumble a little bit on the issue this week,” [Politico reports](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/trump-immigration-stance-allies-squirm-227397). “He needs to have one declarative statement the rest of the way — this is my position on immigration, I’m going to stick with it.” **Mark Levin** The conservative radio host and editor of _Conservative Review_ isn’t a Trump fan, and a post on his website also drew the connection between Trump’s “softening” and his former rival Jeb Bush. [The piece](https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/08/trump-just-officially-adopted-the-jeb-bush-gang-of-8-position-on-amnesty), not written by Levin himself, points out that Trump called Bush “weak” on immigration and says, “Now that Trump himself has proposed non-violent illegal aliens be allowed to remain in the United States after paying fines in the form of “back taxes,” is Mr. Trump’s plan substantially different from Mr. Bush’s? Levin [tweeted](https://twitter.com/marklevinshow/status/768609668205801472) out the story, writing simply, “Trump just adopted Jeb Bush’s Gang of Eight position.” **Erick Erickson** The conservative blogger behind website “The Resurgent” is vehemently anti-Trump. He wrote [a post](http://theresurgent.com/the-great-flip-flop/) on Trump’s “flip flop” and said, “For months now, Republican stenographers and apologists have reassured Republicans that Trump would not cave on plans to appoint pro-life justices to the Supreme Court. How exactly can people trust Trump on that when he is now flip-flopping on the signature plank of his campaign?… The only thing funny about this is to watch the meltdown Trump supporters are now having. Some of us, of course, told you this would happen.” When he [tweeted out a link](https://twitter.com/EWErickson/status/768824598444007424) to his article, he said, “I loved writing this so much.” (The conservative political blog RedState, which Erickson used to edit, also published [a post](http://www.redstate.com/jaycaruso/2016/08/25/trump-supporters-were-warned-hes-fraud/) titled, “Trump Supporters Were Warned He’s A Fraud; They Did Not Listen And Now The Chickens Are Roosting.”) ## Transcript [00:00] I humbly and gratefully accept your [00:05] nomination for the presidency of the United States. Why [00:11] did Hillary get rid of her middle name? Hillary, no [00:16] but why did she get rid of it? Hillary Rotten Clinton. [00:19] She'll go home, she'll take a nap for four or five hours, [00:22] then she'll come back. No naps for Trump! No nap! I [00:25] don't take naps! Her running mate, Tim Kaine, who [00:29] by the way did a terrible job in New Jersey, first act he [00:32] did in New Jersey. Was asked for a $ 4 billion tax [00:35] increase and he was not very popular in New Jersey. If [00:37] you look at his wife she was standing there. She had [00:39] nothing to say. She probably maybe she wasn't allowed [00:42] to have anything to say. But he made a deal with the [00:43] devil. She's the devil. He made a deal with the devil. [00:45] Thousands of people outside, [00:49] thousands, that were turned away by For political [00:53] reasons. Purely for political reasons. Hillary wants to [00:56] abolish, essentially abolish the second amendment. By [01:00] the way and if she get's to pick, if [01:05] she get's to pick Her judges, nothing you can do [01:09] folks. [ APPLAUSE ] Although the second amendment [01:12] people maybe there is I don't know. [ APPLAUSE ] But I [01:15] tell you what that will be a horrible day. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4468220/donald-trump-immigration-conservatives-upset/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4468220/donald-trump-immigration-conservatives-upset/"},"headline":"Conservatives Upset By Donald Trump's Immigration 'Softening'","datePublished":"2016-08-26T15:15:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:41:30.931Z","description":"Donald Trump's new \"softening\" of his immigration stance may be welcome news to most Americans, but it's left some conservatives furious.","url":"https://time.com/4468220/donald-trump-immigration-conservatives-upset/","keywords":["Donald Trump","2016 Election","Immigration"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38ad4d7ff3983f1f/6988a38a5f570f92e8b224b5/donald-trump-florida-attorney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38ad4d7ff3983f1f/6988a38a5f570f92e8b224b5/donald-trump-florida-attorney.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-TRUMP","caption":"US-VOTE-REPUBLICANS-TRUMP","creditText":"AFP—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4468220/donald-trump-immigration-conservatives-upset/","name":"Conservatives Upset By Donald Trump's Immigration 'Softening'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Donald Trump's Meltdown","description":"Following his acceptance of the presidential nomination for the Republican party, Donald Trump has made a number of political gaffes.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ZnrBU8IB/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-08-10T19:41:07.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZnrBU8IB.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4468220/donald-trump-immigration-conservatives-upset/","duration":"PT2M50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4468220/donald-trump-immigration-conservatives-upset/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```