Trump makes his case for securing southern border

January 10, 2019 in News by RBN

NE News Now

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WASHINGTON (January 9, 2019) — President Donald Trump urged congressional Democrats to fund his long-promised border wall in a somber televised address last night in which he outlined the problems the nation now faces because of the lack of a proper barrier along our southern border.

Speaking to the nation from the Oval Office for the first time, Trump argued Tuesday night that the wall was needed to resolve a security and humanitarian “crisis,” blaming illegal immigration for what he said was a scourge of drugs and violence in the U.S. and asking: “How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job?”

Democrats in response accused Trump appealing to “fear, not facts” and manufacturing a border crisis for political gain.

“I’m not optimistic that anything will change [as a result of these speeches]. The left wing of the Democratic Party is demanding that the president not be allowed to secure the border. … I think the only other option the president may end up having is to announce that, on an emergency basis, he’s ordered the military to start constructing the wall.”

Gary Bauer
American Values
(in an interview with OneNewsNow.com)

Using the formal trappings of the White House, Trump hoped to gain the upper hand in the standoff over his demand for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He plans a visit to the border Thursday as he continues to pitch what was a signature promise of his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump will visit the Capitol on Wednesday to meet with Senate Republicans, and has invited Democratic and Republican congressional leaders to return to the White House to meet with him later that day.

He claimed the standoff could be resolved in “45 minutes” if Democrats would just negotiate, but previous meetings have led to no agreement.

In their own televised remarks, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of misrepresenting the situation on the border as they urged him to reopen closed government departments and turn loose paychecks for hundreds of thousands of workers.

Negotiations on wall funding could proceed in the meantime, they said.

“[Nancy Pelosi is] playing word games. America is being changed day by day, in a way that the American people never voted to do. So she can talk about scanning cars and drones – [but] unless you have a barrier to prevent that foot from hitting U.S. soil, we will not solve the illegal immigration crisis that we’re facing.”

Gary Bauer
American Values
(in an interview with OneNewsNow.com)

Schumer said Trump “just used the backdrop of the Oval Office to manufacture a crisis, stoke fear and divert attention from the turmoil in his administration.”

Trump, who has long railed against illegal immigration at the border, has recently seized on humanitarian concerns to argue there is a broader crisis that can only be solved with a wall.

Trump used emotional language, referring to Americans who were killed by people in the country illegally, saying: “I’ve met with dozens of families whose loved ones were stolen by illegal immigration. I’ve held the hands of the weeping mothers and embraced the grief-stricken fathers. So sad. So terrible.”

“I just think that using money that is earmarked for our military at a time when our military needs the money that they have to rebuild after eight years of neglect by the Obama administration is not the best way to do this. But I know that the president has the authority to do it in certain situations if it’s declared essential to national security. I just hope that they can come to some agreement to avoid that.”

Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin (USA-Ret.)
Executive vice presidenFamily Research Council(in an interview with OneNewsNow.com)

Trump has been discussing the idea of declaring a national emergency to allow him to move forward with the wall without getting congressional approval for the billions he’s requested. But he did not mention that Tuesday night.
The partial government shutdown reached its 18th day on Tuesday, making the closure the second-longest in history, and continued on Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are going without pay, and government disruptions are hitting home with everyday Americans.

 

Seeking to keep up pressure on Trump and the Republicans, Pelosi said the House would begin passing individual bills this week to reopen some federal agencies, starting with the Treasury Department to ensure Americans receive their tax refunds. The administration says it will act on its own to ensure the refunds.

Ahead of the speech, the White House sought to shore up GOP support on Capitol Hill, where a growing number of Republicans have been expressing unease with the extended shutdown. But GOP lawmakers were still raising concerns Tuesday, talking about disruptions in payments to farmers and troubles for home buyers trying to get government-backed mortgage loans. Vice President Mike Pence met privately with House Republicans, urging them to “stand strong” and insisting the White House wants to negotiate, according to people familiar with the conversation.

He also told the group that Trump won’t retreat. “That pickup ain’t got reverse in it,” he said.