This is one of those Washington Post recreations, so assume it may be every bit as made up as Wolff's oeuvre. But whether or not Trump asked it, it's a good question.
“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump said, according to these people, referring to African countries and Haiti. He then suggested that the United States should instead bring more people from countries like Norway, whose prime minister he met yesterday.
If you're a lefty, your response is to scream "racism" at the top of your lungs. But if you're a lefty, that's your response to everything. Including your morning coffee.
But it is a good question.
Why do we have an immigration system that favors countries on fire vs countries not on fire?
I've spoken to a British immigration lawyer who told me how hard it is for Brits to move to this country. If you have something to contribute to this country, stay out. If you're going to be on welfare for the next three generations, go to the head of the line.
The left would never admit that it's policy, but it's policy.
It's not purely partisan. That hypothetical Norwegian immigrant is very far from a sure GOP vote. It's quite possible that a Norwegian immigrant is as statistically likely to vote Dem as a Haitian immigrant. And may even be more professionally left-wing.
But that's not the only issue.
The left doesn't just want likely voters that lean their way. Many welfare immigrants will never bother to get citizenship and have poor voter turnout rates. But they utilize as much of the system as possible. And that's where the real money is.
Remember, elections come and go, but the bureaucracy endures.
Social welfare feeds in far more money into the left than it does to its intended recipients. Never mind power. Start with refugee resettlement, graduate to food stamps, free medical, job training, free college, a public defender, assorted counseling and the denizens of the countries on fire are the ones creating countless careers for the professional left.
The left's non-profit sector alone takes in a fortune. And then it links up with government to create the welfare-industrial complex.
That's why.