Why on Earth Is Nancy Pelosi Playing Games With Trump About DACA?

Donald Trump kicked off Thursday morning by tweeting some extremely misleading information about his recent decision to end President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Perhaps more surprising than Trump’s bizarre “everything is fine” message is the fact that he was acting on the advice of Minority Leader and California Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. According to multiple outlets, Pelosi spoke to Trump on Thursday morning and urged him to tweet something to reassure DACA recipients that they would not be deported over the coming months. Of course, he tweeted nothing of the kind, because Donald Trump can’t be trusted—which is something Nancy Pelosi of all people should know.

While it’s true that Trump has ordered a six-month period in which no DACA recipient will be deported, the fact remains that people do indeed have quite a bit to worry about between now and February 2018. First, the Trump administration itself has already advised DACA recipients to “prepare for and arrange their departure from the United States” over the next six months. And second, DACA recipients have to apply for a two-year renewal of their protected status by October 5—just a few weeks away. That is also something to worry about.

Standard-issue “Trump is spreading self-contradictory lies” aside, though, Pelosi’s collaboration with the president in this instance seems particularly galling. She’s about to enter what is perhaps the most significant mid-term election cycle in a generation. Why is she lending her reputation—and that of Democratic Party already seen as weak and collaborative—to a White House whose immigration policy has been fueled by bigotry and fear-mongering since Inauguration Day? And, more importantly, why in the world is she trusting Trump to hold up his end of any deal she thinks she’s striking with him?

There is a newly energized political base salivating for someone—anyone!—to offer a real, substantive fight against Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. And this? This isn’t going to cut it.