As 2018 campaign looms, Rauner could find it tougher to avoid talking Trump
"I am very pro-immigration. So, for example, I support the DREAM Act. For example I support comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship," he said.
"For folks who are here, hardworking honest folks, we need a way for them to gradually become citizens and to become full parts of the American economy. We can do that," said Rauner, who vowed to "push it on a bipartisan basis" because "I will be a bipartisan problem solver."
Contrast those remarks with what
Unlike candidate Rauner,
"We need comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level with
Asked what he considered to be comprehensive action, Rauner said only that he did not believe the issue of DACA registrants losing their legal status could be addressed on a "state-by-state basis." He then restated his call for "comprehensive immigration reform."
And while Rauner as a candidate expressed empathy for "honest" people living in the
The DACA issue is the latest example of Rauner attempting to thread the needle when it comes to Trump. The governor has avoided specific references to his party's president as he seeks to appeal to more moderate suburban voters. At the same time, unlike Republican governors in some other states, Rauner hasn't criticized many of Trump's statements or actions to avoid alienating rural Downstate voters who back the president.
That kind of political tap dance could be difficult for Rauner to sustain in the coming months as he seeks a second term. For one, potential Democratic challengers already have spent months trying to tie Rauner to Trump, and as the March primary draws closer, such rhetoric can be expected to get louder.
Trump continues to make waves, and that means when Rauner is out in public, reporters are going to ask the state's chief executive his views on the unconventional president, his actions and their affects on
"Governors are going to be associated with the president of their party, whether they like it or not," said
The Trump topic has dogged Rauner for a year and a half, dating back to when Trump was seeking the Republican nomination. Despite being the titular head of the
Rauner's nonspecific comments on DACA and DACA recipients were in striking contrast to remarks he made a week earlier when he hailed
"One of the main reasons we are a great state is because we are a welcoming state. We love to have people come from around the nation and around the world to come and work here in the great state of
Rauner added: "I believe very passionately in my soul, a primary reason that America is the greatest nation on Earth is because we are a nation of immigrants. We are all from somewhere else. We've all come to America for freedom and opportunity."
Unlike Rauner, other Republican governors were directly critical of Trump on DACA.
"
In the blue state of
Mooney, the political scientist, said people look to the president at the national level, and governors at the state level, to "provide some kind of understanding of how the world works, in some sense, and to say what's right and what's wrong."
"As a politician, those are statements you should be willing to make," Mooney said.
Rauner's response on DACA is similar to the approach he adopted as Trump and the Republican-controlled
Efforts to end the law would affect about 650,000
Rauner has said Obamacare has "massive flaws" but he urged caution on a repeal without something to "replace it." But the governor did not identify specific concerns or outline what proposals he supported, despite requests from the state's Democratic
The Republican governor spoke out against Trump most directly at last month's
But Rauner's criticism came after the governor fumbled a response to the
Mooney said he is puzzled about Rauner's strategy of "worrying about Trump and Trump voters so much" when the governor so far doesn't face a serious primary challenge from the right.
"Voters want to understand who their politicians are and what their values are on a broad range of issues," Mooney said. "That's part of your brand that will be assessed come election time. Rauner's just not comfortable with that."
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