Newt Gingrich: Border Wall, Immigration Battles Bad for Democrats

A looming battle over President Donald Trump's call for money for a border wall could prove bad for Democrats as the November midterm elections near, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich Monday said the argument has to be more than just about the wall itself, instead about whether the United States has the right to control immigration.

"If the only issue narrowly drawn is the wall, I don't know that it's a winner," Gingrich told Fox News' "Fox & Friends."

"Do we have the right to block murderers, thugs?" he asked. "MS-13 is a gang dedicated to torture, rape, and murder. This is not hyperbole. This is a fact. Sanctuary cities increased the danger of crime."

A majority of Americans, "84 percent," agree sanctuary cities increase the cost of crime, he continued.

"So, if the president gets in where the issue is not just the wall, but the issue is a Democratic Party committed to open borders and wide open migration with no controls, versus a Republican Party trying to protect you from criminals, I think that's a dead loser for Democrats in October," Gingrich said.

Trump tweeted Sunday he would be willing to shut down the government if Democrats refuse to vote for changes he seeks to the U.S. immigration system, including building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"I think he is very committed to protecting Americans," Gingrich said. "I think that everything they have seen about sanctuary cities, about MS-13, about illegal criminals, strengthens his feeling that this is a legitimate national security issue, and the contrast, frankly, could become very vivid."

Meanwhile, all Senate Democrats have signed on as co-sponsors for a border bill proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Gingrich said, but that could backfire.

"If they end up in October in a fight, the Democratic Party wants open borders with anybody coming in, and the Republican Party wants to protect Americans and control immigration, I suspect the Democrats lose that fight by a very, very big margin, maybe 2-1," Gingrich said.

Meanwhile, Gingrich thinks Trump should indicate he would sign a bill allowing a down payment on a wall, in order to force the Democrats' hand.

"If this is the fight he wants, he has got to go to the country," Gingrich said. "He has got to explain it, tie it to illegal criminals and to people who we know around the country – and find these instances of people who have been killed, people who have been tortured, people who have been raped."

He added Trump can also tie border security to the volume of fentanyl and opioids coming in across the border, and he can make a "very strong case."

The question will then come as to who is more radical, Gingrich said.

"Is it more radical to want to have a wall, or more radical to want to have open borders?" Gingrich said. "If he can make that clear enough, this will in the end, in October, be very expensive for the Democrats."

Gingrich also discussed Trump's Friday announcement the GDP level has reached 4.1 percent, and he expects the next quarter to be clear.

"The long-term pattern is clear," he said. "This is the best series of quarters, I think, since 2005 and 2006. His policies are working. Fewer regulations, less government control from Washington, lower tax rates."

Trump believes in business and entrepreneurship, Gingrich said, and that is the "exact opposite of Barack Obama."

The president also understands how to create jobs, unlike Democrats "who are either college professors or lawyers who don't have a clue who have never created a job," Gingrich said.

"They have a theory that they call socialism, which is basically big government bureaucrats running your life," he added. "They openly despise business and attack business all the time, and then they are surprised that that doesn't encourage people to create jobs."

Under Trump, he added, jobs are growing, but the Obama team "did a great job if you love food stamps, and a terrible job if you love jobs," Gingrich said.

"The truth is the Trump team is opposite. They want welfare reform, vocational education. They want people to go to work, and they are creating an environment where small businesses look around and say 'this is great.'"