Republicans were quick to embrace Cher after her tweet about sanctuary cities, but it wasn’t actually as pro-Trump as many of them would like to think.

After President Trump announced on Twitter that he’d like to shuffle the nation’s "apprehended illegal immigrants" to cities that defy federal immigration laws, the Goddess of Pop had something to say about what the move would do to her hometown.

A vocal critic of Trump, Cher tweeted Sunday that Los Angeles, which declared itself a “city of sanctuary” in February, couldn’t even take care of its own citizens.


Many conservatives were quick to characterize the tweet as a win for Trump and the GOP.


Cher might've come off as a victim of the president's plan to "own the libs," but celebrating elite hypocrisy won't help.

Rather than solving a problem with our immigration system, Trump's ploy to frustrate Democrats turns the onus back on them: “Oh yeah, you care about immigrants? Well why don’t you take care of all of them yourself?"

On Saturday, Trump tweeted as much: “Just out: The USA has the absolute legal right to have apprehended illegal immigrants transferred to Sanctuary Cities. We hereby demand that they be taken care of at the highest level, especially by the State of California, which is well known or its poor management & high taxes!”

In a way, Trump's gambit worked. Cher's views appear to have flip-flopped from two years ago.


But Cher can point out Los Angeles’ hypocrisy in its own governance without jumping on board with the president's whole immigration agenda.

It's easy to laugh at the anti-Trump celebrity in the anti-Trump city getting "owned" by Trump's immigration trick. But there's a more substantive point to be derived from this if conservatives are willing to look for something beyond Twitter lib-owning. Her argument — why can't we take better care of our citizens before we try to take care of more people? — is one conservatives ought to sincerely embrace and advance.

Before the city commits to taking care of more people, she said Los Angeles should be sure it can manage the responsibilities it already has. Announcing Los Angeles’ decision to officially become a sanctuary city, City Councilman Gilbert Cedillo said it would be a sanctuary “for all those who have been under attack in this Trump era.” That’s a tall order, one that will be hard to fill if the city can’t even take care of the homeless on Skid Row.


Trump may finally agree with Cher, but she doesn't necessarily agree with him.

At least she offered up what could be one of the few points of agreement between Republicans and Democrats on immigration. If Republicans mock her for falling for the president's trap instead of explaining why both sides agree on the matter, they lose a rare piece of common ground.