Democratic leader says she is waiting to see more before committing to work with the president on immigration.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi attended a press conference with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to discuss President Trump and how the Democrats plan to resist his initiatives at the National Press Club on Feb. 27, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (SAMUEL CORUM/ANADOLU AGENCY/GETTY IMAGES)
Skeptical that President Donald Trump's modulated tone during his first joint address to Congress on Tuesday was a sign he had turned over a new leaf, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the address was "clearly a bait-and-switch speech" and that Trump has failed so far in his presidency to back up his rhetoric with concrete proposals.
"We're legislators," Pelosi said in an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday. "Show us your proposal."
When it comes to issues such as infrastructure and immigration, Pelosi said her party was willing to listen – to a point.
"Infrastructure has never really been a partisan issue," she said. "So if he has an infrastructure plan [we'll consider it] but not if it's a tax plan disguised as infrastructure."
Pelosi said she was disappointed that after suggesting to reporters earlier Tuesday that he was willing to work towards an immigration reform proposal that would be acceptable to both Democrats and Republicans, similar policies were absent from his speech.
He told reporters just hours before the address that "the time is right for an immigration bill as long as there is compromise on both sides."
And during the speech, he alluded to a "merit-based system" and reducing the number of low-skilled immigrants.
If Trump were indeed reconsidering some of the hard-line stances against immigration his administration has taken in its opening weeks, Pelosi said she would be willing to hear him out.
"If he were [serious about it], it would be consistent with President Ronald Reagan, with President George Herbert Walker Bush, with President Bill Clinton," Pelosi said. "George W. Bush was a great president on immigration, but the Republican Congress did not let him."
"But whatever the president proposes, it will be interesting to see how Congress disposes of it," she said.
Nonetheless, Pelosi said a real test would come when the White House followed its initial budget proposal with the figures it plans to send to individual agencies this week.
"Show us your values, show us your budget," she said.
For Democrats, compromise must include a potential path to citizenship for immigrants currently living in the U.S. without proper authorization, Pelosi said.
"We have criticized other countries who say we'll use them as a workforce" but did not allow immigrants to become full citizens, Pelosi said. "It's very important for us to have a path to citizenship."
If the president proposes "something that forbids citizenship, I couldn't sign on to that," she added. "There are plenty of ways for us to work in a bipartisan way, in fact, we have to. Immigration is the lifeblood of our country."
Democrats have been skeptical, if not outright hostile, to many of Trump's actions in the first weeks of his administration. On Tuesday night, they were largely quiet, stopping short of jeering or booing the president as some opposition party members have done in the past, but walking out at its conclusion rather than following the tradition of waiting for the president to depart the House chamber first
The time for more animated opposition, she said, was coming.
"For all the dignity that we wanted to bring to the address of the president… to see Republicans applauding blowing up the budget and protectionism, I was more mystified by their reaction," she said.
"Elections have consequences, and you saw some of them last night, but as people see that all we have is rhetoric, we don't have legislation, so we haven't seen a place to work together," she said. "When we see a change for contrast, we'll put forward our positive plan, but not while people are still very enamored by a snake oil salesman."
The time for more animated opposition, she said, was coming.
"For all the dignity that we wanted to bring to the address of the president… to see Republicans applauding blowing up the budget and protectionism, I was more mystified by their reaction," she said.
"Elections have consequences, and you saw some of them last night, but as people see that all we have is rhetoric, we don't have legislation, so we haven't seen a place to work together," she said. "When we see a change for contrast, we'll put forward our positive plan, but not while people are still very enamored by a snake oil salesman."
