The Factor examined the possibility of additional military action with Sebastian Gorka, a top adviser to President Trump. "There are people in the Pentagon and the National Security Council," Gorka began, "who have gamed out all of the possible scenarios. But unlike the last administration, we are not going to give our plans away in advance. What you've seen in the last 48 hours was President Trump being more decisive than President Obama was in eight years! We are sending a message to nations like Russia, China, and Iran. This is proof that we have a new president and they will have to draw their own conclusions."
The Trump administration has expressed outrage at Bashar al-Assad, who has apparently used chemical weapons against Syrian rebels. Military analysts Col. David Hunt and Christopher Harmer looked ahead to possible U.S. intervention. "There are really two options," Hunt said. "One is to wipe the entire Syrian air force off the map if we are sure that Assad did this. The other option is a smaller tactical strike on air fields. It sounds to me like we are laying the groundwork to do something." Harmer downplayed concerns that an air strike will put American troops in danger. "I don't see any heightened risk to U.S. troops. They are now fighting against ISIS and Al Qaeda, while the targets of this strike will be the ability of the Assad regime to deliver chemical weapons. In one or two nights we can destroy the Syrian air force." The Factor added, "If we let this chemical attack go, Trump looks weak like Obama did."
Some sensitive folks are upset because Amazon is selling a costume that resembles a border wall and includes the message, "Mexico Will Pay." Dennis Miller used the controversy as a launching pad for one of his patented rants. "I don't understand the world we live in," he confessed. "I would tell anybody who's thinking of coming here from Mexico to stay home because this country has gone to hell, it's nuts! You've been told great things about America, but it's whiny and people spend all day protesting about Halloween costumes on Amazon. Mexican people have a stoicism about them, they're nice people who take care of their families. I'm telling them that they don't want to come here."
The California Senate has passed a bill that would effectively establish the entire state as a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, including many criminals. California Republicans Jeff Stone and Travis Allen analyzed the possible fallout. "This bill would make California a sanctuary state on steroids," complained Stone. "It is written to shield dangerous, felonious non-citizens from being deported. It actually makes it unlawful for our law enforcement officials to have discussions with ICE about releasing these dangerous criminals. This is all to antagonize the president." Allen predicted that the bill will pass. "The Democrats are united on this, even though Californians don't agree with it. Native born Californians and immigrants don't want these criminals in their communities." The Factor concluded, "This sounds insane!"
Many Democrats openly despise Donald Trump and will oppose anything he puts forward. The Factor analyzed that animosity with Democratic consultant Marjorie Clifton. "A lot of people have strong emotions related to President Trump," she conceded, "because he has done a lot of things that have evoked emotional responses. There was his talk about the wall and his comments about women, those have hit chords. I agree that the Neil Gorsuch nomination battle may not be the food fight you would want in a different climate, but Democrats do care about President Trump's pettiness. He has not been a unifer." The Factor concluded, "Democrats know Gorsuch will be confirmed, now they are just being obstructionists."
