--- title: Donald Trump DACA Deal Leaves Some Democrats Skeptical description: President Trump and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill are ready to work out a deal on DACA. But the rank and file remains skeptical. canonical: https://time.com/4942202/donald-trump-daca-dreamers-schumer-pelosi/ author: Nash Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-14T20:19:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:51:34.361Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'He'll Go Back on His Word.' Rank-and-File Remain Skeptical of DACA Deal og:description: "If we strike a deal with him, he’ll go back on his word at any point." og:url: https://time.com/4942202/donald-trump-daca-dreamers-schumer-pelosi/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53d5157ae7503340/6988ddd94ee262662430eff4/gettyimages-846998292.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5187 og:image:height: 2918 og:image:alt: Child Care for Working Families Act og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'He'll Go Back on His Word.' Rank-and-File Remain Skeptical of DACA Deal twitter:description: "If we strike a deal with him, he’ll go back on his word at any point." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt53d5157ae7503340/6988ddd94ee262662430eff4/gettyimages-846998292.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'He'll Go Back on His Word.' Rank-and-File Remain Skeptical of DACA Deal > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Ask Donald Trump a tough question, and he’ll often answer: What about something else?_ by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Sep 14, 2017 8:19 PM UTC by [Nash Jenkins](https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Sep 14, 2017 8:19 PM UTC President Trump and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill are ready to work out a deal on [protecting undocumented immigrants](http://time.com/4941733/trump-daca-deal-enshrine/) brought to the U.S. as children. But the rank and file of both parties remain skeptical. After a Chinese food dinner in the White House Wednesday night, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said they were [close to a deal](http://time.com/4940903/trump-daca-program-protections/) on avoiding deportation of so-called Dreamers. Other Democratic lawmakers weren’t sure that a [deal could be worked out](http://time.com/4942123/donald-trump-daca-dreamers-democrats-deal/), however. “I don’t think the president actually understands what he’s saying half the time,” said Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona. “I’m afraid that if we strike a deal with him, he’ll go back on his word at any point.” They were also concerned that including border security measures in the bill to protect Dreamers could lead to other compromises on immigration down the road. “I think we have to be very leery,” said Democratic Rep. Luis Gutiérrez of Illinois. “When did the border security stuff get slipped into this conversation and where is it going to lead once the alt-right begins raising their voices?” Republican lawmakers, meantime, fretted that Trump might come to prefer negotiating with Democrats, especially after the Republican failure on repealing the Affordable Care Act over the summer. “It’s pretty clear that it’s a warning to Republicans — if we can’t get things done, we’re giving him no choice than to work with the Democrats,” Republican Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania told reporters. “This president did not come here to do nothing. He came here to get things done. If the Republicans aren’t going to get something done, he has no choice but to work in a bipartisan way.” He added: “And let’s not criticize that, because that’s what everyone claims that they want.” Trump’s decision to work with Schumer and Pelosi marks a reversal in his treatment of the opposition party. Earlier this year, he described Schumer as the Democrats’ “head clown” and demanded that Pelosi be investigated for her “close ties to Russia.” But his decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has shielded roughly 800,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation, made some deal-making necessary. Already, Trump has faced criticism from the right. Breitbart has dubbed the President “[Amnesty Don](http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/09/13/report-trump-caves-on-daca-wants-quick-amnesty-for-800k-illegal-aliens/),” while conservatives worried that the DACA talks and a short-term deal to raise the debt limit last week were signs that Trump was cutting the GOP out of the process. In recent days, Trump has also courted Democratic senators from red states, looking for support for an effort to change the tax code. “Does the new outreach approach extend to a bipartisan effort on taxes or infrastructure or something big like that? We don’t know,” a Democratic aide tells TIME when asked about Trump’s appeal to Schumer and Pelosi. “I think he simply likes them more, on a personal level.” Schumer, a New Yorker who knew Trump before he got into elected politics, was also caught on a C-SPAN microphone saying Thursday that Trump [“likes me.” ](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/14/chuck-schumer-hot-mic-trump-242723) But while Trump is talking with Democrats more, a deal has still not been reached. “These were discussions, not negotiations,” Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said at a press conference. “There isn’t an agreement.” He also noted that any legislation will have to pass through both chambers of a Republican-controlled Congress — a cynicism shared by some congressional Democrats. Rank-and-file Republicans also noted that it was premature to draw conclusions. “There is no agreement,” Republican Rep. Dave Brat of Virginia told reporters. “What’s there to talk about? I doubt it’s gonna happen. But I’m a ‘no’ on it.” “I’m not going to get into whether I trust or distrust the President,” added Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama. “The President has the right to speak with whomever he wishes. I just hope he chooses to exercise good judgment and understand that if you give amnesty to illegal aliens, then the long-term effect is to have more illegal aliens taking jobs from American citizens who very badly need them.” Others were a bit more cynical. “Ultimately, having to go to Chuck Schumer to do something that’s ostensibly Republican will be the death of the Republican agenda,” said Republican Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona. _With reporting by Maya_ _Rhodan_ ## Transcript Ask Donald Trump a tough question, and he'll often answer, what about something else? He did it when he was asked about white nationalist protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia. What about the alt left that came charging at the as you say the alt right, do they have any semblance of guilt? It's a well known rhetorical technique called whataboutism. And it's used everywhere from your local playground [ SOUND ] to Russian propaganda [ FOREIGN ]. The technique began during the Cold War as Soviet spokesmen sought to deflect criticism. It had died down in political use since the 1990s but lately it's made something of a comeback. When Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked about meddling in the 2016 election he gave a classic example of what aboutism. Put your finger anywhere on the map of the world and everywhere you will hear complaints that American officials are interfering in internal electoral processes. But in the US its biggest practitioner is Donald Trump. He used it when he was asked about the hacking of Hillary Clinton's campaign. I mean think of it, they gave her the questions to a debate and she should have reported herself. He used it when asked about CEOs leaving his advisory council over his remarks on Charlottesville. If you look at some of those people talking about. They're outside of the country, they're having a lot of their product made outside, if you look at Merck as an example. He used it when asked about his controversial pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. But I wanted to look at some of the other people that were pardoned over the years and if you look at, as an example, President Clinton pardoned Mark Rich. Who was charged with crimes going back decades. President Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, who leaked countless sensitive and classified documents to Wiki Leaks, perhaps and others. And in an ironic twist the used it to criticize America When asked about his respect for Vladimir Putin. Putin's a killer. A lot of killers, we got a lot of killers. What do you think? 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