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Sevugan on Syria: Last Thing the Country Needs is Another Military Adventurism in the Middle East by a GOP President Without a Strategy

communications

CHICAGO -- Hari Sevugan, Principal at 270 Strategies, joined MSNBC yesterday to discuss the recent jobs report, NSC shakeups, and Trump's military action against the Assad regime.

On whether this was "Trump's most successful week as president"

"Let’s recap the week. We had a jobs report that was the worst that we’ve seen in nearly a year, one of the worst that we’ve had in the last three years, underperformed by about 100,000 jobs. The president’s senior adviser was kicked off of the National Security Council, and that adviser and his son-in-law are in a feud that’s ripping apart the administration. Only in the child’s standard that the media affords Donald Trump is this a successful week.”

On Trump’s strike against Syria

"Even if you agree with the notion that we need regime change in Syria, it has to be a part of a comprehensive strategy. What we had this week was a military action that didn’t achieve a military objective. The airfield was rebuilt in a day. What we need is a comprehensive strategy — the last thing that this country needs is another Republican president who undertakes adventurism in the Middle East without a comprehensive strategy. We’ve seen where that’s gotten us. I look forward to hearing from the president and the administration about a more comprehensive strategy. What we’ve had so far is a missile strike which the president says was brought on by his sympathy for the victims of the Assad regime. At the same time, the president is shutting the door on those same refugees that are being affected by the Assad regime. That’s not a part of a comprehensive strategy, those are conflicting interests that the president is driving.”

On recent NSC changes and Trump’s impulsiveness

"It depends on who [Steve Bannon and K.T. McFarland] are replaced with, they shouldn’t have been in there in the first place. We are confusing decisiveness with impulsiveness, and that’s what we’ve gotten from the Trump Administration, impulsive decisions. Whether it’s in staffing, or in their attitude towards regime change and military strikes. Those aren’t things to be impulsive about, those are things to have a comprehensive strategy that we can share with Congress and the American people."

Watch Hari's interview here.

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Tran on Trump Overtures to Democrats: White House and Republicans in Congress Need a Victory

communications

WASHINGTON -- Lynda Tran, Founding Partner at 270 Strategies, joined CBSN today to discuss Trump's overtures to Democrats, the math for Republicans on health care and Gorsuch's nomination, and how the American people will be the key factor in Trump's policy proposals moving forward.

On Trump saying he wants to work with Democrats on health care

"What it reflects is that he's seen the writing on the wall. After this humiliating experience around the Obamacare repeal, it's become clear to him that he thought he could ram through his proposals with a Republican-controlled Congress, but governing is a lot harder than campaigning, and he's got to deal with the various factions within his own caucus. And as a result, if he has any hope of moving through some of the various policy proposals that he's put forth, he's going to need to get some people on the other side of the aisle to stand with him."

On whether Chuck Schumer and Democrats in Congress will work with Trump

"I do think that Chuck Schumer, certainly in the leadership role that he has, is going to be very, very important when it comes to any conversations on health care or any other major policy pieces moving forward. But honestly, the biggest piece in all of this is going to depend on the American people. The reason why the Obamacare repeal faltered and went down in flames frankly was because of all of these protests we were seeing in home districts of Republican members of Congress and it was because of the action on the streets that you're seeing from people who are standing up and saying what they will and won't stand for."

On letter to Trump from 44 Democratic Senators

"You know honestly I think that those members are thinking about the 20 million people who are covered under Obamacare. And what they're most concerned about is shoring up the system that exists so that those people lives are not put at risk and so that those people have consistent healthcare. Look, President Obama himself said that if there's a way to improve Obamacare, we ought to be looking into it. I think that Senate Democrats in particular mean it when they say if that if there's a path forward that makes improvements, they want to be there as part of it."

On Jared Kushner being tasked with making government run like a business

"I think it's really interesting that he's moved Jared Kushner into this particular role and that they're framing it as government as a business, because to me what it really highlights is a disconnect and a misunderstanding about what government really is about. Businesses are designed to maximize profit, businesses are designed to make really tough choices, to make sure that the numbers add up. The reality is that government is about caring for the people. Those two things are not only in conflict, but they are diametrically opposed. When you are thinking about providing healthcare to people who are dying in the absence of affordable health care coverage, when you support people with a social safety net, those are not profit-maximizers per se."

On Gorsuch's nomination

"The Republicans and the White House really need a victory. They need to post something after weeks and weeks after really tough news and weeks of defeats. I think that they are moving forward with the nuclear option because they feel like they have no other option."

Watch Lynda's full interview here.

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Tran on Admin's Crackdown on Sanctuary Cities: It's Scapegoating Immigrants as Criminals

communications

WASHINGTON -- Lynda Tran, Founding Partner at 270 Strategies, joined Fox News this morning to discuss the Trump Administration's threatening of sanctuary cities.

On the Trump Administration’s targeting of sanctuary cities

“The federal government sets immigration law, and localities have the obligation to comply with federal law. But, we should be clear, that part of what is concerning people here is this larger issue, which is that we haven’t done anything about comprehensive immigration reform and what’s ended up happening is that states and localities have a little bit of a patchwork solution to how they are dealing with things in their own communities. There is a larger issue with what’s going on here. The other piece of this, and what we should be clear on is that this is, yes, about federal law, but it’s also a specific pivot from what has been significant bad news for the Administration over the last several days. First, it started off with issues and defeat around the Obamacare repeal effort.”

On Sessions’ threat to cut federal funding of sanctuary cities

"It’s not a surprise at all, but, there’s a bit of a red herring that’s happening here as well. There is a bit of scapegoating of undocumented immigrants as criminals, and study after study has shown that immigrants actually commit crimes at a much lower rate than U.S.-born individuals. Even the Cato Institute has put out research to that effect.”

Watch Lynda's interview here.

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