Trump Reportedly Backed a Plan to Save DACA Recipients Before Sean Hannity Changed His Mind

Welcome to WHAT NOW, a morning round-up of the news/fresh horrors that await you today.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly had finally gotten President Donald Trump on the same page with a deal to give legal status to undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. But then he called Fox News idiot Sean Hannity.

As The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday night, Hannity demanded Trump take a harder line in dealing with immigrants who received temporary protections under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The president of the United States reportedly sided with Hannity, a guy best known for spinning conspiracy theories and doing MMA.

On Sunday, the White House unveiled Trump’s new set of demands, which include full funding for his southern border wall, effectively killing the so-called deal that Democratic leaders supposedly struck with Trump to save DACA.

And as much as Kelly has tried to control the flow of information into Trump’s Oval Office, the president is bucking his best efforts, apparently often calling Hannity after his nightly show.

“The president has started to call people more on the weekends, from the cellphone, which he didn’t used to do,” the LA Times source said.

I feel safe, don’t you?

WHAT ELSE?

• The board of directors of the Weinstein Company, the company Harvey Weinstein co-founded, was aware as far back as 2015 of at least three or four confidential payouts to women who said Weinstein sexually harassed them, The New York Times reports. Jezebel is keeping a running list of Weinstein’s accusers.
• Speaking of Weinstein, Hillary Clinton was on CNN talking about the allegations against him. Asked if she considered Weinstein, a prolific fundraiser and donor for Democratic candidates, a friend, she bravely said:

Yes, I probably would have, and so would so many others. You know, people in Democratic politics for a couple of decades appreciated his help and support. And I think these stories coming to light now, and people who never spoke out before having the courage to speak out, just clearly demonstrates that this behavior that he engaged in, cannot be tolerated and cannot be overlooked.

• Does this man have no shame at all? All signs point to no.

• At least 23 are dead and 285 missing in largely uncontrolled wildfires tearing through Northern California, which have decimated whole neighborhoods and historic vineyards and forced the evacuations of entire towns.

WHAT’S NEXT?

• Trump is expected to sign an executive order today to accomplish what a Republican Congress miserably failed to do: bring about the end of the Affordable Care Act’s markets by incentivizing shoddy, cheap plans that didn’t comply with the law’s consumer protections to lure younger, healthier people away from the markets and leave the sick and infirm behind.

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