Donald Trump persuaded by Laredo mayor to temper border wall plan
In the middle of Saturday’s Texas Tribune Festival panel on the border and the Legislature, state Rep. César Blanco, an El Paso Democrat, asked two of his Republicans colleagues if there was something they could do to keep Donald Trump from exploiting the border for his own political benefit.
“Do you think any of us can control Donald Trump?” replied state Rep. Larry Phillips, the Sherman Republican who chairs the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee.
Perhaps not.
But the panel of border mayors that followed included Pete Saenz of Laredo, who hosted Trump on his whirlwind border inspection tour in July, and may have actually persuaded Trump to slightly moderate his plans for a great wall between Mexico and the United States.
As Saenz told the American-Statesman after the panel discussion, he was obligated to be a “gracious” host to Trump but also obliged during his border briefing for Trump to explain why the Republican presidential front-runner’s plans for a wall and mass deportations were ill-advised.
Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/donald-trump-persuaded-by-laredo-mayor-to-temper-b/nn5DC/?icmp=statesman_internallink_referralbox_free-to-premium-referral
