Trump doubts lawmakers can reach acceptable border security deal

[webfact]

Trump doubts lawmakers can reach acceptable border security deal

By Susan Cornwell and David Shepardson

 

FILE PHOTO: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks after signing legislation during an enrollment ceremony before sending it to U.S. President Donald Trump for his signature to end the partial government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 25, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump expressed scepticism on Sunday that U.S. lawmakers seeking to avoid another government shutdown could reach a deal on border security that he would accept, as he renewed his vow to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico.

 

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump said chances were low that Congress could craft an agreement and avoid another closure of part of the U.S. government in three weeks' time, when funding will expire.

 

"I personally think it's less than 50-50, but you have a lot of very good people on that board," the president said, referring to the committee of lawmakers appointed to work out a compromise on border security funding.

 

Another shutdown, Trump told the Wall Street Journal, was "certainly an option."

 

The president has also said he might declare a national emergency in order to build his border wall. Democrats would likely challenge that in court.

 

"Does anybody really think I won’t build the WALL? Done more in first two years than any President!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening.

 

Democratic resistance to Republican Trump's demand for $5.7 billion for a border wall resulted in a 35-day shutdown of about a fourth of the U.S. government, a closure that just ended on Friday.

 

The five-week standoff damaged the U.S. economy, left many federal workers scrambling to make ends meet and tested Americans' patience with delays to air travel, closures of national parks and other disruptions.

 

After opinion polls showed Americans increasingly blamed Trump for the situation, the president signed a measure on Friday to fund the government for three weeks as congressional negotiators try to work out a bill to fully fund the agencies through Sept. 30.

 

But Trump also threatened to resume the shutdown on Feb. 15 if he does not get what he wants.

 

In his interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump also sounded doubtful about a possible deal involving both wall money and a broader overhaul of U.S. immigration laws.

 

"I doubt it," he said, when asked if he would agree to citizenship for a group of immigrants known as "Dreamers," who were brought to the United States illegally as children - in exchange for border wall funding.

 

"That’s a separate subject to be taken up at a separate time," Trump said.

 

'SHUTDOWNS NOT GOOD LEVERAGE'

Earlier on Sunday, some lawmakers criticized using the closure of federal agencies as a tool in policy disputes. Senior legislators from both parties said the latest shutdown, the 19th since the mid-1970s, was as ineffective as previous ones but much more disruptive as it was the longest in U.S. history.

 

"Shutdowns are not good leverage in any negotiation," Republican Senator Marco Rubio said on NBC's "Meet the Press," urging congressional negotiators to tackle border security in the three-week talks launched by last week's shutdown-ending deal.

 

Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives, said on the same television show that shutdowns were "not legitimate negotiating tactics" in public policy disagreements between two branches of government.

 

About 800,000 federal workers were furloughed or worked without pay during the shutdown, missing at least two paychecks that officials are now working to make up for.

 

"We hope that by the end of this week, all the back pay will be made up," acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said on CBS' "Face the Nation."

 

Federal workers are owed about $6 billion in back pay, according to a study released last week.

 

As a candidate, Trump pledged to build the wall, with Mexico paying for it. Mexico refused and now Trump wants U.S. taxpayers to pay for the barrier, which he sees as key to curbing illegal immigration and illegal drug flows into the country.

 

Democrats say a wall would be too costly and ineffective.

 

It remained unclear when Trump would deliver his State of the Union address, which was postponed during the shutdown. One administration official, who asked not to be named, said on Saturday the speech would likely not occur until February.

 

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Peter Cooney)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-28

[darksidedog]

5 minutes ago, webfact said:

Does anybody really think I won’t build the WALL? Done more in first two years than any President!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening.

Done more to upset large chunks of the whole world than any previous president, I will grant you that much. Probably told more lies than the previous 44 combined too. And, No, I don't think he will get the useless wall built.

[pegman]

Trump just got humiliated when he caved, getting no wall money. How the hell does he think there will be any different outcome next month. What leverage does he think he will gain before the next funding bill?

[Boon Mee]

The Fat Lady hasn't even begun to warm up yet on the Wall. 

[johnnybangkok]

"Does anybody really think I won’t build the WALL? Done more in first two years than any President!" Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening.

It's this kind of nonsense rhetoric that prevents a conciliatory approach to Trump. Bragging, half-truths and downright lies just don't play well with seasoned politicians and create a brinkmanship that is unnecessary and goes directly against any chance he has of getting his own way. Apart from giving tax breaks to the rich and large corporations and sticking (controversial) right wing judges on the Supreme court, the man has literally done nothing or to be more conciliatory in my statement; certainly not enough to grant him the right to say he's done more in his first 2 years than any other president.     

[rudi49jr]

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

The Fat Lady hasn't even begun to warm up yet on the Wall. 

You must be deaf as a post because I heard her sing a long time ago already. And just so that you know: Elvis has left the building as well ...

[farcanell]

2 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

The Fat Lady hasn't even begun to warm up yet on the Wall. 

If you’ve gotta chase analogies, I’m thinking Humpty Dumpty is way more relevant.

[guest879]

America gives Mexico 10 billion in foreign aid this year. for what? Americans democratically elected trump on a promise to build a better southern boarder. none of it makes any sense. at least San Diego has a wall, there is another caravan of 12000 people on the way. fourth one this year. seems like they just don't want to get the wall done to spite Trump. Trump derangement syndrome is a hell of a thing.

[Colonel Klink]

That's strange, USAID reports $290 million was given by all Federal agencies in 2017, the last full year reported, and $3.1 billion from 2010 inclusive. Rather short of your $10 billion.

Even more peculiar, the 'emergency' on the border became an emergency only during the midterms. Not a peep during the previous two years.


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[earlinclaifornia]

trump might just wake up and realize he does have them right where he hoped. Wake up! "OK no Wall I give but bring me the plan to make this border secure. That plan will far exceed the 5.7B Wall.

[xylophone]

19 minutes ago, earlinclaifornia said:

trump might just wake up and realize he does have them right where he hoped. Wake up! "OK no Wall I give but bring me the plan to make this border secure. That plan will far exceed the 5.7B Wall.

He might just wake up and find he's got a brain that works.............no, no, don't want to get too silly about this now do we??

[Tug]

Oh don’t worry Donald will be safely behind or in front of a wall soon!

[wabothai]

11 minutes ago, Tug said:

Oh don’t worry Donald will be safely behind or in front of a wall soon!

He is now walking the green mile.

[Jingthing]

Offer him the 5 billion in exchange for path to citizenship for the expanded number of daca eligibles. The democrats would go for that. The government won't be shut down again because the Republicans would override that now.

 

 

If "trump" can't eat that crow then he can try his outrageous fake emergency gambit and send that to the courts.

 

Enjoy.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

[Sir Swagman]

Doubts about an acceptable agreement.....acceptable to him, not the majority of Americans. And to the poster saying give him the 5.7 to build the wall - that is a downpayment only, all estimates are multiples of that to get what is proposed by trump built. 

Taking advice from Faux news is what got him in this mess in the first place, well not counting stupid sound byte type campaign statements that preceded this. Growing up is probably in order.

 

[Jingthing]

Doubts about an acceptable agreement.....acceptable to him, not the majority of Americans. And to the poster saying give him the 5.7 to build the wall - that is a downpayment only, all estimates are multiples of that to get what is proposed by trump built. 
Taking advice from Faux news is what got him in this mess in the first place, well not counting stupid sound byte type campaign statements that preceded this. Growing up is probably in order.
 

Not sure who you are talking about but yes of course 5 billion covers only a limited new section of a wall. Obviously. That satisfies him for his political face game if he is going to run in 2020. The full strength daca thing is a fair deal where both sides get a major victory. He wants to give crumbs only mixed in with poison pills. Nope. He lost the midterms so that ain't gonna ever happen.

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[Prissana Pescud]

6 hours ago, farcanell said:

If you’ve gotta chase analogies, I’m thinking Humpty Dumpty is way more relevant.

Humpty Dumpty was a large gun that fell off a castle wall.

It actually goes. - 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the Kings horses and all the Kings men.

Had scrambled eggs for breakfast

[Prissana Pescud]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Not sure who you are talking about but yes of course 5 billion covers only a limited new section of a wall. Obviously. That satisfies him for his political face game if he is going to run in 2020. The full strength daca thing is a fair deal where both sides get a major victory. He wants to give crumbs only mixed in with poison pills. Nope. He lost the midterms so that ain't gonna ever happen.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Or maybe Mr Putin said get your ass out of Syria. Ok says Mr Trump.  Now go blow a heap of taxpayers money on something totally useless.  Ok says Mr Trump. I got a huge wall across the Mexico border in mind.  If you want says Putin. But I fail to see how we can launder any money on that deal.

[Opl]

offer him a Trump Monument

[quandow]

That boy is one slow learner. Nancy, or as he calls her, "Nancy," will be happy to school him as many times as it takes. If he tries pulling that gov't shutdown stunt again, it will be to his ultimate political demise.

[utalkin2me]

Shut it down Trump. This is what you are good at.... bringing the govt to a grinding hault. You just know he is going have another hissy fit and shut it down again. He'll show them. 

[Jingthing]

4 minutes ago, utalkin2me said:

Shut it down Trump. This is what you are good at.... bringing the govt to a grinding hault. You just know he is going have another hissy fit and shut it down again. He'll show them. 

He does like to smash things up. Funny for a so called builder. Maybe his true calling was demolition.

[ballpoint]

11 hours ago, Prissana Pescud said:

Humpty Dumpty was a large gun that fell off a castle wall.

It actually goes. - 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the Kings horses and all the Kings men.

Had scrambled eggs for breakfast

Donald Trump wanted a wall

Donald Trump had a great fall

But was then impeached in winter, fired as president in spring, and jailed in summer.

[spidermike007]

What Trump is really saying, is that nobody will agree to my ridiculous demands for my wall. So therefore, no deal will get done. Trump needs to let the wall go. It is NOT a crisis. It is a manufactored issue, designed as a talking point. He barely discussed immigration, at the beginning of the campaign. Then his close buddy, the recently arrested probable felon, Roger Stone, designed the slogan build the wall. He told his team Trump would be able to relate to the word build. Hence, build the wall nonsense was born. 

 

I knew Trump would fold. He could not handle the huge drop in approval numbers, and he was totally taken off guard, that most of America blamed him, and only him for the "Trump wall shutdown". It was his fault on every level. He fabricated a crisis, then got caught with his pants down, when he declared war on the new congress, and the American people. Now, he looks weak, and dumb, all accurate presumptions. 

 

Going up against Pelosi was a real mistake. Pelosi made Trump look naive and stupid. Which he is. He is a terrible negotiator. She is masterful. He is of modest intelligence. She is very sharp. 

But aside from insults, he doesn’t really know how to deal with assertive older women, because for his entire life they have existed outside of both his immediate view and his broader imagination. When he talks about “women”, it’s obvious that only a small subsection of them fit into his definition; some might have qualified, but by virtue of challenging him can be written off as bimbos; a few others are witch-like hags who have surrendered their claim to womanhood; and the rest are simply invisible. The women of Trumpworld have a single role, and that is to say “yes”. Trump has long bought and paid for that acquiescence. Now, Pelosi is telling him no, and she has real power and can’t be ignored, replaced or waved away. They aren’t in direct competition (as he was with Clinton and Fiorina), so he is less able to leverage more generalized public sexism to win his battle against her. He’s used to women helping him feel like a big man. Now, here’s a woman who makes him look small and impotent.

 

Which is why Trump will respond the only way he knows how: with feeble insults and exclamation-point-laden letters. Pelosi played it cool. She knows how the rules work and how the system operates, and she’s no stranger to condescending men who insult her before they vastly underestimate her. Trump, on the other hand, has never had to work directly with a woman like Pelosi, and seems completely perplexed by her behavior, which is so different from that of all the other women in his world. She knows what she’s up against. He can’t seem to tell what species she is. And it usually ends poorly for the man who can’t tell a kitten from a lion.