Monday, March 2, 2015
4:02 PM
Walker: 'My view has changed' on immigration
Gov. Scott Walker says he has changed his position on immigration and doesn't support amnesty for illegal immigrants now living in the U.S.
Walker's comments on immigration in recent weeks have been under scrutiny as he insisted he opposed amnesty despite past comments and actions that suggested he had previously supported a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants now living in the country.
Appearing on "Fox News Sunday," the likely presidential candidate said his position has changed. He blamed President Obama's handling of the immigration issue for the shift.
"My view has changed, I'm flat-out saying it. Candidates can say that, sometimes they don't," Walker said.
The guv also insisted he hasn't flipped his position on right-to-work after calling the bill a distraction last year, but now promising to sign it. He said now "is the perfect time" for the bill.
"I never said I'd veto it," Walker said. "I asked for them not to make it a distraction early on in the session. I presented my budget. I laid out my agenda. They're acting on that right now. Now is the perfect time."
The guv also sought to address other controversies that have flared in recent weeks.
Walker insisted he wasn't comparing ISIS to protesters who flooded the Capitol four years ago when he told a crowd of conservative activists last week if he could take on the pro-union crowd, "I can do the same across the world."
He insisted he was not comparing the two entities and his comment "was about leadership."
Walker also said he believes the president loves America.
Walker has taken flak after Rudy Giuliani said at a dinner the two attended that Obama didn't love America. Walker, who had refused to condemn the comments previously, said the former New York mayor wasn't speaking on his behalf.
"I think, in the end, he and anybody else who is willing to put their name on the ballot certainly has to have the love for country to do that," Walker said.
The guv also waded into his refusal to answer a question on whether he believed the president is a Christian, saying he wasn't going to get into a "manufactured media crisis."
Read the transcript of Sunday's show
Labels: WalkerWatch2016
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