Trump to consider executive order to put citizenship question on 2020 census
Ben Kissel and Joe Pinion both agree that the push by the Trump administration to put a citizenship question on the 2020 census is political.
Voters resonate with the basic premise of a census citizenship question and if the courts ruled against President Trump again on the issue, it'll aid him politically.
That was the argument Joe Pinion, secretary for the New York Young Republican Club, made while appearing on "America's News HQ" on Friday. His comments came as the Justice Department said it was still exploring its options for including a citizenship question. This week, the Supreme Court ruled that the question's original justification was illegitimate.
"Realistically, if they lose in the courts, it probably helps the president," Pinion said after Vittert asked whether the administration should continue drawing out the issue. Trump, Pinion argued, could follow a court rejection by arguing that he did everything he could to fulfill his promises on immigration.
Ben Kissel, co-host of "The Last Podcast on the Left," disagreed, arguing that Trump was off-base if even a Supreme Court with his chosen nominees couldn't back the play.
Kissel added that the question was a "grotesque attempt to undermine our democracy." "There's no denying that there's political motivation behind this," he said, suggesting wanted to use the question to ensure more electoral victories. He added that the move was clearly "unconstitutional."
Pinion commented that regardless of the legal arguments, Americans were focused on "what is so harmful about simply asking people" whether they were citizens. "I think that type of simple messaging -- whether you agree with its political motivations ... -- I think resonates with a large swath of Americans."
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Trump, on Thursday, used that line of argument, arguing that it was important for the country to ask that "very simple and basic" question.
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