Democratic leaders in Congress announced a major agreement with President Trump on Wednesday night. “We agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said of the program to protect the children of those who are here illegally from deportation, “and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that’s acceptable to both sides.” 
 
 That wall part, understandably, set off alarm bells among Trump's hard-line immigration base, and Trump and the White House responded Thursday morning that there was, in fact, “no deal.” But it turns out there, well, basically is. 
 
 Here's what Trump tweeted: 
 
 No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017 
 
 The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017 
 
 First off: Well, of course it's “subject to vote.” Every deal is. And Schumer and Pelosi didn't claim that the details on border security had been worked out. I read their comments more like “A deal has been reached in principle.” 
 
 As for the principles of that deal — and specifically the border wall — this is really a non-denial denial from Trump. He says the wall will “continue to be built,” but he doesn't say that it must be part of the deal. Democrats didn't claim the wall renovation would be halted in the deal or anything like that; they simply said the new deal would not include more funding for the wall, which Trump has promised. This, again, seems to be Trump stating the obvious. 
 
 
 
 Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). (Jose Luis Magana/AP) 
 
 White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was a little more definitive in a statement. “While DACA and border security were both discussed, excluding the wall was certainly not agreed to,” she said shortly after Trump's tweets went out. 
 
 Okay, but if the wall part was “certainly not agreed to,” that seems to suggest the rest of it … was? And it's nearly impossible to believe that Democrats would have agreed to anything that further funds that wall. That's a red line for them, period. Excluding it would have to be part of any deal. 
 
 Update: And as he often has, Trump completely contradicted his spokesman on this in a matter of hours. “The wall will come later,” he said after emerging from his White House residence. He added that they are “fairly close” to a deal along the lines of what Pelosi and Schumer said. 
 
 Pelosi and Schumer, meanwhile, agree that Trump's comments don't change anything. “President Trump's tweets are not inconsistent with the agreement reached last night,” they said in a just-released statement. “As we said last night, there was no final deal. …” 
 
 Back to Trump's tweets: 
 
 Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017 
 
 ...They have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own - brought in by parents at young age. Plus BIG border security — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017 
 
 And here we have the president basically defending a deal that he says hasn't been reached. 
 
 So this is basically an argument over the word “deal.” (The Post, notably, is calling it an agreement “to work on [a] deal,” which seems the best way to phrase it.) Democrats say they have reached an agreement with Trump; Trump and the White House were suggesting there is an agreement, but emphasizing that there is no “deal” since it hasn't been finalized. Nobody really disagrees. 
 
 The White House's responses Thursday morning seem to be more an effort to cover their own hides with the base than anything else. Maybe the agreement will eventually fall apart when the particulars of the deal begin to be worked out, and Democrats balk at the amount of border security? Maybe the White House has gotten cold feet after the likes of Breitbart and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) have utterly denounced the deal? (The former is calling him “AMNESTY DON.” The latter says such a deal would mean the “Trump base is blown up, destroyed, irreparable, and disillusioned beyond repair.") 
 
 But the indications we're getting from both sides are actually pretty similar. ||||| President Trump’s supporters are apoplectic and lashing out at “Amnesty Don” for pursuing a deal with Democratic leaders to protect young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. 
 
 Only a week ago, Trump thrilled his base by rescinding an Obama-era order on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows about 800,000 young people brought into the country illegally to live and work without fear of deportation. 
 
 But the president quickly backtracked, reaching an agreement late Wednesday over dinner with Democratic leaders Sen. Charles Schumer Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerGOP must lose the filibuster to win the political war Amy Schumer cancels interview with Sinclair-owned station Trump continues to put Americans first by adding citizenship question to census MORE (N.Y.)and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) that would extend protection to the so-called Dreamers in exchange for promises to enhance border security. 
 
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 The trade-off does not appear to secure funding for Trump’s promise to build a border wall, which was the cornerstone of his insurgent campaign and a primary reason why grassroots conservatives trusted him over the establishment Republicans in the first place. 
 
 The reaction from the right has been swift and merciless. Trump has backtracked on his campaign pledges before, but conservative immigration hawks like Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) warned that this deal with Democrats would do lasting damage. 
 
 @RealDonaldTrump If AP is correct, Trump base is blown up, destroyed, irreparable, and disillusioned beyond repair. No promise is credible. https://t.co/uJjxk6uX5g — Steve King (@SteveKingIA) September 14, 2017 
 
 Breitbart News, the pro-Trump outlet helmed by Trump’s former chief strategist Stephen Bannon, ran a string of scathing headlines about the deal. 
 
 “Dems declare victory as Trump caves on DACA,” said one. “Amensty Don trends #1 in D.C.,” said another, referring to a nickname the right has given Trump on Twitter. 
 
 As Trump boarded Air Force One for a trip to hurricane-ravaged Florida on Thursday morning, a reporter shouted at him to ask if he supports “amnesty.” 
 
 “The word is DACA,” Trump responded. 
 
 He later pushed back on the criticism from conservatives. 
 
 "We're not looking at amnesty,” Trump said. “We're looking at allowing people to stay here. … We're talking about taking care of people." 
 
 At this point, who DOESN'T want Trump impeached? https://t.co/g1mMhmm8ng — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 14, 2017 
 
 But conservatives like Laura Ingraham, who has been considered for White House posts and will take over a primetime Fox News Channel slot soon, were at a loss to explain why Trump, who has fashioned himself as an expert dealmaker, would give away one of his most valuable bargaining chips without securing any meaningful concessions. 
 
 When does American working class w/out real wage increase in 15yrs & who send their kids to overcrowded public schools get amnesty? — Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) September 14, 2017 
 
 ONLY deal that MIGHT make sense for #DACA is RAISE Act + E-Verify + Wall. Dems' "Border security" pledge is MEANINGLESS. @realDonaldTrump — Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) September 14, 2017 
 
 To many on the right, Trump is prioritizing DACA recipients, a prize constituency for Democrats, over his campaign promise to put American workers first. 
 
 “We tried this trade in 1986, and the result was the 12 million illegal aliens currently in the United States,” said Rosemary Jenks, the director of government relations for NumbersUSA. “It didn't work then and it won't work now.” 
 
 Trump has long struggled with what to do about DACA recipients, frequently conceding that there is a human element involved in deciding the fates of young people brought into the country illegally who know no other home. 
 
 On Thursday, Trump said he couldn’t justify moving to “throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military.” 
 
 Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017 
 
 ...They have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own - brought in by parents at young age. Plus BIG border security — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017 
 
 But defending Dreamers as good people is an emotional hook often used by Democrats advocating for amnesty — something that was not lost on the right. 
 
 “Very odd,” said Mark Krikorian, the executive director for the Center for Immigration Studies. 
 
 “Instead of shifting the debate to what trade-offs there should be to contain the harmful fallout from such an amnesty, he's simply echoing Chuck and Nancy's — and probably Jared [Kushner’s] — talking points. My expectations for Trump were fairly low … but he hasn't met even that low bar.” 
 
 Trump on Thursday also pushed back against criticism he had gone soft on building a border wall, saying that a barrier is already being constructed. 
 
 The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017 
 
 Breitbart shot back with the headline: “POTUS says ‘wall’ is actually just renovation of old fences.” 
 
 As the morning unfolded, the warning shots at Trump rolled in from his most loyal and vocal backers, like Fox News anchor Sean Hannity. 
 
 And if @POTUS doesn't keep that promise, and goes for amnesty, it will be the political equivalent or "read my lips, no new taxes" https://t.co/WxBSHYMxv6 — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) September 14, 2017 
 
 Jordan Fabian contributed
– In a move that stunned many Republicans, Democratic leaders announced Wednesday night that they had reached a deal with President Trump to protect Dreamers from deportation in return for funding extra border security—but not a wall. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced the deal after a White House dinner, the AP reports. "We agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that's acceptable to both sides," they said in a joint statement. A source says the deal also includes a pathway to citizenship for the almost 800,000 young immigrants involved. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted that DACA and border security were discussed at the meeting, though "excluding the wall was certainly not agreed to," the Los Angeles Times reports. This is the second time in two weeks that Trump has bypassed Republicans to cut a deal with Democrats and immigration hardliners are furious over what they see as an amnesty, the Washington Post reports. If reports of the deal are true, Trump's "base is blown up, destroyed, irreparable, and disillusioned beyond repair," said GOP Rep. Steve King. "No promise is credible." Breitbart.com called the deal a "full-fledged cave" and dubbed the president "Amnesty Don."