*By Conor White* Donald Trump may be looking to score points with his base ahead of midterm elections by turning the conversation back to immigration. With one week to go before Election Day, Trump proposed ending birthright immigration with an executive order during an interview for "Axios on HBO" [released Tuesday morning](https://www.axios.com/trump-birthright-citizenship-executive-order-0cf4285a-16c6-48f2-a933-bd71fd72ea82.html). "It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don't," the president claimed in the video. Birthright citizenship is protected under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and any effort to end it would come under immediate legal challenge. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan broke with Trump to make a firm statement against his proposal shortly after the interview was released. "You cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order," he said in an interview with Kentucky radio station WVLK. Trump's birthright proposal came one day after the Pentagon said it would send more than 5,000 U.S. troops to the southern border to prepare for what Trump has called an "invasion" of asylum-seeking migrants slowly making their way through Mexico. Some observers see the focus on immigration as politically-motivated. "One gets the sense that he hasn't thought through the details very strongly," David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic, said about Trump's birthright proposal in an interview Tuesday on Cheddar. "What he's really concerned with is the rhetoric and how it plays politically." "He's remembering 2016 and seeing the magic he got talking about immigration," Graham continued, "Hoping he can recreate that and pull a win out." However, Shannon Vavra, a political reporter at Axios, noted that Trump has long railed against so-called "anchor babies" and other longstanding immigration policies such a "chain migration," which refers to immigrants sponsoring family members to come to the U.S. She said the timing may just be Trump being Trump. "The timing of it is definitely questionable at this point," she said, "but President Trump tends to do what he wants to do." For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/trump-says-hell-end-birthright-citizenship).

Share:
More In Politics
Opening Bell: March 7, 2018
We discuss what Gary Cohn's resignation could mean for President Trump's tariff plan. The planned sale of the Weinstein Co. has collapsed yet again, just days after terms were agreed to. Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg talks to Discovery CEO David Zaslav about the company's acquisition of Scripps. And we're also joined by Michael Kramer from Seeking Alpha to explore whether Amazon shares have peaked for this year.
Europe Brings Levi's and OJ to the Tariff Fight
The EU could impose retaliatory tariffs on American imports like Levi's jeans and orange juice in order to "send a message to Washington," says Joseph Sternberg, the Wall Street Journal's Editorial Page Editor for Europe
Starting a Tariff War?
President Trump's top economic advisor, Gary Cohn, has resigned from his post. This announcement came just days after Trump announced his decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, a move that Cohn strongly opposed. Joseph Sternberg is the Wall Street Journal's editorial page editor for Europe, and he joins Cheddar to break down all of this could mean for U.S. and EU relations.
The Fallout From Gary Cohn Exiting the White House
Kelly Macias, staff writer for Daily Kos, and Alayna Treene, reporter for Axios, discuss what comes next now that Gary Cohn has left his post as President Trump's top economic advisor. They also touch on how the Democrats made out Tuesday in the Texas primaries.
Gary Cohn Out, Investor Worry In
Another White House shake up. President Trump's top economic advisory Gary Cohn said Tuesday that he would be leaving the White House in the coming weeks. His departure comes on the heels of the President's announcement that he would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Chad Morganlander, Portfolio Manager at Washington Crossing Advisors joins Your Cheddar to give his predictions on the market amidst the White House depature.
This Changes Things [3/6/18]
On this episode of "This Changes Things" hosts Baker Machado and Brad Smith talk how President Trump's tariffs could negatively impact small businesses in America. Plus, how technology is changing the way business is measured.
Closing Bell: March 6, 2018
President Trump doubles down on tariffs, saying a trade war doesn't hurt us. Blackberry is suing Facebook. Amazon Prime's former Vice President is heading to Airbnb. Plus, we take a look at the business of marijuana on Cheddar's Cannabiz.
Load More