“The issue is terrible for House Republicans, President Trump, and the Republican Party as a whole. For many voters, including crucial swing voters from suburban areas, it reinforces the absolute worst perceptions,” a veteran Republican strategist with clients on the 2018 ballot said, requesting anonymity in order to criticize Trump…

This Republican insider is not a reflexive Trump critic and conceded that this issue could be long forgotten in just a few days, as is typical with controversies surrounding the president. But speaking to the Washington Examiner via email, this strategist said that, if not, the political fallout could be devastating.

“Compounding the problem is the incompetence of the Trump administration to have a clear policy when it comes to these children at the border, let alone an articulate one. The president blaming the Democrats rings hollow because WE ARE IN CHARGE,” the strategist said.