Steve King: Trump risks his base if no action on immigration

DES MOINES - President Donald Trump may start to lose some of his most ardent supporters if he is unable or unwilling to accomplish more of the goals he laid out on the campaign trail, U.S. Rep. Steve King, a Republican from conservative northwest Iowa, said Thursday.

King, during taping of this weekend's episode of 'Iowa Press” on Iowa Public Television, said Trump has done some good things during his first three months in office but that he would like to see more, especially on immigration.

King has long been a staunch advocate for greater enforcement of the nation's immigration laws and the elimination of immigrant-friendly policies implemented by President Barack Obama.

In particular, King wants the repeal of two programs - the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans - that protect from deportation some immigrants living in the country illegally.

'I am not at the level of being happy with, so far, what Donald Trump has done,” King said. 'He's done some good things and seems to have put a lot of good things in place. But DACA and DAPA still exist ... and I've told the president this: Every day you don't address this, it gets harder and harder to do.”

Trump often said during the presidential campaign that he would repeal those Obama-era immigration programs.

That's not the only policy shift Trump has made since moving into the White House. In recent weeks, he has changed on his stance on using military intervention in Syria, on whether China is intentionally devaluing its currency and on his support for NATO and the federal government's export credit agency.

King said if Trump continues to depart from the promises he made during the campaign, he risks losing the support of those who voted for him.

'I think that there's that risk. I wouldn't say that is the case today,” King said. 'His base is starting to get uneasy because they haven't seen this movement on DACA and DAPA. They're not quite confident yet on the (border) wall, but the messages are clear out of the White House that we'll build that wall.

'I look at the to-do list that comes out of the campaign promises of Donald Trump ... there's a lot of check marks behind that. But there are a few to go (that) he has to do or he'll lose his base. And I think that's an important message for the president to receive.”

Trump also said on the campaign trail he wants Mexico to build the wall along the nation's southern border to help prevent illegal immigration. But Trump, according to reports, plans to ask Congress for $1 billion to start construction of the wall.

King did not indicate any concern that Trump's supporters will be upset if U.S. taxpayers foot the bill for the wall.

King said the U.S. could find revenue streams - from jobs that U.S. companies are choosing to keep in the country instead of sending outside its borders, a possible tax on wired money transfers from the U.S. to Mexico, or using money confiscated from illegal drug operations - that would offset the costs of the wall.

'There are a lot of ways to do the math on this,” King said. 'I think we'll get to that point where one day they'll be able to say, ‘Yes, (Mexico) did pay for it.' ”

King said the border wall is also important to help stem the tide of illegal drugs coming into the country from Mexico and contributing to drug overdose deaths here.

Among other topics, King declined to say whether he will run for a ninth term in the U.S. House but did say he enjoys working with all-Republican control in the nation's capital.

King said he supported the Trump administration's decision to conduct a missile strike on a Syrian airfield but said he is hesitant to embrace a plan to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad without knowing the plan for filling that power vacuum.

As to congressional Republicans' failed attempt at undoing Obama's health care reforms, King said he thinks it was a mistake to attempt to repeal and replace the law in one fell swoop - that Republicans should have repealed measures first and then introduced new measures later.

The 'Iowa Press” segment with King will air on Iowa Public Television at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 5:30 a.m. Sunday and noon Sunday; and at 8:30 a.m. Saturday on IPTV World. The interview is available online at iptv.org/iowapress.

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