In response to massive media and pundit criticism this week, President Trump signed an executive order mandating that families be kept together even if they made illegal entry in the United States. Despite directly answering what Democrats were screaming about, they weren’t happy. Because that’s not really what they wanted. They were using the presence of children to get Trump to stop detaining those who entered illegally. For Trump, that’s a no-go. Honestly, when are they going to learn that trying to play the player is futile?

In most cases, Trump does not play the politics game in an expected fashion, and that’s what angers liberals the most. Because he wins, playing the game his way. But Friday he held a typical political event – something Obama would be proud of – a press conference with families that have been permanently separated from their loved ones due to illegal immigration. These are the angel moms and dads, brothers, sisters, and friends, who have been brought together because they share a grief few people ever have to face. Their loved ones were killed by people who never should have been here. This was a political spectacle, and it was pretty spectacular. Tear-jerking to a superb degree.

On the family separation issue, the only thing that concerns many people was whether those being detained are being treated humanely. After that, many are honestly not that bothered. Others might say that’s heartless and try to shame them into caring, but like Melania’s fashion graffiti message, they really don’t care. They are all out of outrage – especially when so much of it is manufactured.

Americans care that people are treated appropriately, but they don’t all agree that people who have entered illegally automatically get special treatment if they have dragged a child into the mess – especially when it appears that the child is being as a pawn. Call them cynical, but making asylum claims as last ditch efforts to buy time does not lend credibility to the plight. But should the children suffer for that? But are they suffering, or just out of sorts?

In the view of many, humane treatment likely includes proper food and shelter, medical attention, hygiene, prohibiting abuse of any kind, and keeping all parties informed of their families’ whereabouts. Perhaps familial visits would be good too. Custody of the children may be transferred to legal relatives or approved family members if appropriate. But the parent does not get a pass because they brought their child into this situation. If this was a rational world, that might even count against the fitness of the parent.

Will the child suffer irreparable trauma from these separations? Not if these humane conditions are adhered to. Children whose parents go out of town on work, get deployed, go to prison, and get divorced also experience separation anxiety. This is a normal part of life and learning to deal with adversity. In this case, much of this adversity may be self-imposed by the parents – if they really do have an asylum claim. By entering illegal they set yet another obstacle in their way of achieving security and freedom. If they are falsely claiming to seek asylum, the responsibility of the U.S. is to ensure the safety of all involved, while properly adjudicating the situation. If the U.S. wants to provide for families to stay together during these long processes, most Americans won’t have a problem with that either, but they want the rules to be followed.

Do these parents literally have no other choice? Perhaps, but that is to be determined through the channels already set out by Congress. If those rules are insufficient or unworkable then they need to be changed, and not massaged through executive power. In the meantime, the unpleasantness of a temporary separation of families is outweighed by the risks posed by those entering the country illegally and with unknown motives.

No matter what administration is in power, it has an obligation to protect Americans first. If that is not the rule, then what good is it to be a citizen of any state? There is a priority to the use of resources. For too long, administrations have kowtowed to other nations when the choice is between Americans and others. Americans feel this and resent it. And then they elect Donald Trump.

The media and the Left, seem to think they have really struck gold with this issue. They are wrong. But they still attack the Angel families. Immigration was Trump’s leading issue, and his strong stance in maintaining a policy of zero tolerance – that all those making illegal entry will be prosecuted – is very popular. Those that are on Trump’s side but were a little queasy about the sad pictures of crying children have been mollified and will count it in Trump’s favor that he responded to these concerns. They are not concerned with whether he was telling the truth about his stated inability to do anything because the law mandated the child be treated differently than the adult (he was). They are just glad to point to the executive order and say he fixed it. (He really didn’t, there will be legal challenges, but right now that doesn’t matter, and he won this round again).

Republicans should stop wasting their time on Immigration until after we elect more Senators and Congressmen/women in November. Dems are just playing games, have no intention of doing anything to solves this decades old problem. We can pass great legislation after the Red Wave!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2018

Trump doesn’t typically acquiesce to political theater, though this week he did, twice – he signed an executive order that probably doesn’t have much teeth but made people happy and exposed Democrat hypocrisy, and he lined up a lot of people with sad stories to give weight to staying strong on enforcing the law. He has resisted playing this game, but at heart he’s a pragmatist. And he saw some wins with these efforts this week. His Red Wave prediction may not be that far out.