When the president's peacemaking efforts invite more chaos

While the nation braced to see what would happen next in Los Angeles, on Thursday, a surprising message appeared on President Trump's Truth Social account.

- Clarence Page

A day after videos emerged of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents chasing after terrified farmworkers trying to hide in California fields, the president suggested in the Truth Social post that he might not fully pursue his core policy proposal of mass deportation after all.

Or so it seemed.

A closer reading revealed his sympathy was directed not so much toward the workers as toward the agricultural industry and his fellow members of the managerial and ownership class — the bosses who needed the labor that undocumented workers disproportionately provide.

"Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long-time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace," he posted.

To underscore how much of a change of tone this represents, recall the language he used in 2015 at Trump Tower in New York to announce his first campaign to spin up fear, loathing, and resentment as if he was ready to invade Mexico.

"When do we beat Mexico at the border? They're laughing at us, at our stupidity," he said. "And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they're killing us economically.