Trump demands U.S. border wall, sidesteps declaring emergency

[webfact]

Trump demands U.S. border wall, sidesteps declaring emergency

By Jeff Mason and Richard Cowan

 

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a televised address to the nation from his desk in the Oval Office about immigration and the southern U.S. border on the 18th day of a partial government shutdown at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 8, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Pool

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump urged Congress on Tuesday to give him $5.7 billion (4.5 billion pounds) this year to help build a wall on the border with Mexico, but stopped short of declaring a national emergency that could have led to unilaterally funding the project.

 

Facing Democratic opposition in Congress to a wall, Trump said in a prime-time televised speech that there was a growing security crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

 

But after days of hinting that he might use his presidential powers to declare an emergency as a first step towards directing money for the wall without congressional approval, Trump appeared to be willing instead to continue seeking a solution to the impasse with Congress.

 

Trump is scheduled to visit the southwest border on Thursday and it was not clear whether he still might choose to make the national emergency declaration.

 

Trump's remarks came 18 days into a partial government shutdown precipitated by his demand for wall construction, which he has said is needed to keep out illegal immigrants and drugs.

 

Democrats and other opponents of a border wall had threatened to take legal action if Trump issued the order, arguing that he is manufacturing a crisis to carry out his 2016 presidential campaign promise for a wall that he said at the time would be paid for by Mexico. The Mexican government has refused to provide such funds.

 

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Alex Alper, Ginger Gibson, Patricia Zengerle and Mike Stone in Washington, Richard Valdmanis in Boston and Kenneth Li and Mica Rosenberg in New York; Writing by Alistair Bell and Richard Cowan; Editing by Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-09

[spidermike007]

The vast majority of Americans DO NOT support the wall, which is never going to get built. Only a percent of his base of devotees want the wall, and that is only due to constant brainwashing.

 

Roger stone was frustrated that Trump kept on forgetting to talk about immigration at the beginning of the campaign. He said Trump is a builder. He will remember to say build a wall. Hence the birth of the slogan and the fear mongering. The only terrorist apprehended at the border in the past 20 years was coming from Canada. All terrorists use the sea or come by air. None come by land. None. One in the past 20 years was caught. It is all a total ruse. Not only is illegal immigration way, way down, but if you look at crime statistics in the US, nine times more homicide is committed by American citizens, than by legal immigrants. And three times more homicide, by Americans, than by illegal immigrants. If Trump wants to solve the crime problem in the US, he has to get his own people in his administration and his team, to stop committing crime, then he has to stop committing crime, and then he can work on reforming his base, and then other Americans.

[keemapoot]

It seems the only national emergency that has been shown is that Trump will clearly lose this legacy-defining fight and be blamed for further effects of the shutdown.

[tomacht8]

What a clown. He simply can not think clearly anymore and is not mentally able to weigh in alternatives. He behaves like a 4-year-old at the supermarket cash Register who stomps with his feet and roars around just because his mother does not want to buy him a chocolate bar.

 

Mentally absolutely unfit as president.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

34 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

It's clear that walls work

 

How did the 9/11 hijackers enter the U.S. and what countries/nationalities did they come from? It sure wasn't from Mexico or Central America, nor were they from those countries.

 

There's your answer to why we don't need Trump's wall, and this is a president who wants to withdraw U.S. troops from the Middle East and has consistently gone soft on Saudi Arabia (the home country of most of the 9/11 hijackers who entered by airlines with visas, not the Mexico border -- and Saudi Arabia wasn't even included in Trump's Muslim immigrants ban) despite all that and the Saudi's recent assassination of a Washington Post columnist in Turkey.

 

It's Trump who's imperiling U.S. national security by his actions and policies -- and that has nothing to do with building or not building a useless wall along the U.S. Mexico border.

 

[Bluespunk]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump said in a prime-time televised speech that there was a growing security crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

 

trump says a lot of things, very few are based on the truth. 

[Emdog]

The networks should bill him for the speech, as it was clearly a campaign speech. Evidence includes his pre speech pitch from his campaign site to donate to "secure the border fund" (tho there is no such thing) and at bottom the $ goes to his election campaign.

And after speech another pitch to those who might not have shelled out, a chance to be on a list Trump might glance at. Con man all the way

[Nice Boyd]

International Embarrassment...is he profiting off the Wall, hmmm

[generealty]

TallGuyJohninBKK

Regarding the 9/11 attack - I think you should look closer to home to find the real culprits (Maybe start in DC)

[TVGerry]

Trump is obviously a liar. What makes it so sad is that his acolytes, who even after he's obviously lied to them continue supporting him. I mean 'Mexico will pay for that wall' was his campaign slogan! And now he wants the American taxpayer to pay for it? And still the Trump sheepies still insist he's right and the Democrats wrong. Boggles the mind the stupidity of certain people!

[klauskunkel]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump demands U.S. border wall

It should be clear by now even to this thick-headed person that demands don't work, he has been demanding for years...

Why doesn't he ask nicely?

[keemapoot]

4 minutes ago, TVGerry said:

Trump is obviously a liar. What makes it so sad is that his acolytes, who even after he's obviously lied to them continue supporting him. I mean 'Mexico will pay for that wall' was his campaign slogan! And now he wants the American taxpayer to pay for it? And still the Trump sheepies still insist he's right and the Democrats wrong. Boggles the mind the stupidity of certain people!

Indeed, and we can all understand party politics, and fierce party loyalty and arguments along party lines, but that is not the issue here. This mind-boggling numbness is all about idol worship of one person, who exhibits almost no intellectual rigor, who advances no cogent arguments with facts, figures, expert opinions, or reliance on acknowledged experts in their fields. 

 

It's all about hero worship of a tragically small man.

[Silurian]

Let me see if I can summarize the current administration talking points.

 

There is a "crisis" on the US southern border that is creating a national "crisis" that will be a "crisis" for all Americans. This "crisis" is further escalated by the "crisis" the Democrats are causing with their shutdown "crisis" causing methods. Only a wall barrier will resolve the ongoing border "crisis" which includes humanitarian "crisis", drug "crisis" and rampant crime "crisis" of historical proportions!

 

Geez, say a word over and over again until it has lost all meaning.

 

Ah, nothing like fear mongering to get the base all riled up.

[Jonnapat]

Fortunately Trump is no longer in a position to demand anything. 

[keemapoot]

Wow, you know things are bad when your own propaganda machine is now spouting fake news. ????

 

Quote

Donald Trump's Border Speech Gets A Savage Instant Fact-Check On Fox News

https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-apos-border-speech-054604564.html

[Srikcir]

Trump didn’t even want to give that immigration speech

Privately, Mr. Trump dismissed his own new strategy as pointless. In an off-the-record lunch with television anchors hours before the address, he made clear in blunt terms that he was not inclined to give the speech or go to Texas, but was talked into it by advisers,

“It’s not going to change a damn thing, but I’m still doing it,” Mr. Trump said of the trip to the border

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/8/18174850/donald-trump-immigration-speech-reaction-pointless

[sirineou]

17 minutes ago, Silurian said:

Let me see if I can summarize the current administration talking points.

 

There is a "crisis" on the US southern border that is creating a national "crisis" that will be a "crisis" for all Americans. This "crisis" is further escalated by the "crisis" the Democrats are causing with their shutdown "crisis" causing methods. Only a wall barrier will resolve the ongoing border "crisis" which includes humanitarian "crisis", drug "crisis" and rampant crime "crisis" of historical proportions!

 

Geez, say a word over and over again until it has lost all meaning.

 

Ah, nothing like fear mongering to get the base all riled up.

In my involvement with a Century21 franchise I attended numerous sales seminars  one point that was consistent through all of them was that "Fear of loss is greater than  desire for gain." 

[keemapoot]

1 minute ago, tomazbodner said:

I have a solution for all of this.

 

Trump says that Mexico will pay a lot more than 5 billion he wants in funding for that wall.

 

How about Trump pays for it out of his pocket, and then get money back from Mexicans. I mean, he said himself 100% sure they'll pay a lot more, so consider it an investment!

Great idea, except that we all know Trump has been vastly overstating his net worth and in debt and bankruptcy multiple times for many years. He probably couldn't even scrape up a couple hundred million for this.

[EVENKEEL]

So, seems the most popular left thinking is Walls don't work and Illegals commit crimes at an acceptable rate. They say it's money not well spent while...…... Calif wants to provide Med Ins for all illegals. Same as the wackos in New York who wants to do same. We're talking Billions of dollars. 

 

We don't want to try to keep out illegals, we want to welcome them.

[hansnl]

8 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The vast majority of Americans DO NOT support the wall, which is never going to get built. Only a percent of his base of devotees want the wall, and that is only due to constant brainwashing.

 

Roger stone was frustrated that Trump kept on forgetting to talk about immigration at the beginning of the campaign. He said Trump is a builder. He will remember to say build a wall. Hence the birth of the slogan and the fear mongering. The only terrorist apprehended at the border in the past 20 years was coming from Canada. All terrorists use the sea or come by air. None come by land. None. One in the past 20 years was caught. It is all a total ruse. Not only is illegal immigration way, way down, but if you look at crime statistics in the US, nine times more homicide is committed by American citizens, than by legal immigrants. And three times more homicide, by Americans, than by illegal immigrants. If Trump wants to solve the crime problem in the US, he has to get his own people in his administration and his team, to stop committing crime, then he has to stop committing crime, and then he can work on reforming his base, and then other Americans.

The vast majority of the US citizens don't want the wall?

Only one percent of his supporters want the wall?

Where did you get all this wisdom?

From his opposers' polls?

 

[Becker]

10 minutes ago, hansnl said:

The vast majority of the US citizens don't want the wall?

Only one percent of his supporters want the wall?

Where did you get all this wisdom?

From his opposers' polls?

 

"A percent" is not the same as one percent.

[Dumbastheycome]

4 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

It's clear that walls work and the only reason Democrats are now opposed to building one is it will reduce their voting base. 

Stonewalling to ransom the security of the US American population is working? 

[Dumbastheycome]

3 hours ago, generealty said:

TallGuyJohninBKK

Regarding the 9/11 attack - I think you should look closer to home to find the real culprits (Maybe start in DC)

Oh hell yes!

[Stargeezr]

The Chinese built a wall and today it is being invaded by tourists. The US wall is a Trump

farce. What a tool, I will be glad when he is gone, he gives twitter a bad name

Geezer

[zydeco]

Trump will never resolve this issue, because he needs "THE WALL" to deflect from whatever other campaign promise he is breaking at any particular moment. Note that he goes to visit the border on Thursday. The same day a "message" will be released about the just concluded US-China trade agreement. China will promise to buy more soybeans and Trump will utterly and completely surrender but nobody will notice because he is on the border. And nobody will notice the latest trade figures either. Because they were due to be released on Tuesday but were not because of the government shutdown over THE WALL!  Convenient, huh.

[Dumbastheycome]

The devolution of the applied illusion of  "democracy" is underway.

And that is  not exclusive to the USA.

Those that have used and have held  sway

In  determining  the script of  international play

In interest of that  lure of false  mon-ay

The "supreme" Corporate  model  has  had a very short day

In not too long the "numbers" will have their say

In that chaos for humanitay

 

end

 

I could add but it would bring me to tears.

I have  children,  grandchildren.

Humans are a self destructive  animal.

 Goodbye.

Dumbastheycome.

 

 

[keemapoot]

It appears the post-mortem results are coming in on Trump's DOA lame attempt to whip up a national emergency.

 

Quote

Trump's Border Wall Speech Blamed Democrats for the Shutdown. Polls Show Americans Blame Him

http://fortune.com/2019/01/09/trump-border-wall-speech-government-shutdown-2019-poll/

[hugocnx]

2 hours ago, Dumbastheycome said:

The devolution of the applied illusion of  "democracy" is underway.

And that is  not exclusive to the USA.

Those that have used and have held  sway

In  determining  the script of  international play

In interest of that  lure of false  mon-ay

The "supreme" Corporate  model  has  had a very short day

In not too long the "numbers" will have their say

In that chaos for humanitay

 

end

 

I could add but it would bring me to tears.

I have  children,  grandchildren.

Humans are a self destructive  animal.

 Goodbye.

Dumbastheycome.

 

 

I am as dumb as I come. What exactly did you try to say in that poem. 

[candide]

4 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

So, seems the most popular left thinking is Walls don't work and Illegals commit crimes at an acceptable rate. They say it's money not well spent while...…... Calif wants to provide Med Ins for all illegals. Same as the wackos in New York who wants to do same. We're talking Billions of dollars. 

 

We don't want to try to keep out illegals, we want to welcome them.

No. The arguments are first that walls work well in certain areas (i.e. where they already are) and are not best suited in others.  Another argument is that 65% of recent illegals entered legally with a visa and then overstayed. Finally, the number of people trying to cross illegally has been steadily decreasing for years so there is no "emergency" or "crisis". 

Anyway, why bother you with facts? 

[Tug]

It’s simple really Donald is trying to turn America into an exclusive country America was founded on the idea that we are an inclusive country he is against everything this country stands for no matter what bs he feeds you