Frustrated Trump Says a Wall âIs a Wall!â
Donald Trumpâs frustration over his campaign to fence off the US-Mexican border spilled into linguistic territory Thursday when the president declared himself fed up with people dancing around what to call his dreamed-of barrier.
âLets just call them WALLS from now on and stop playing political games! A WALL is a WALL!â Trump tweeted.
In other tweets, he signaled that heâs in no mood to compromise as Congress debates on providing construction funds. âThe Wall is getting done one way or the other!â he vowed.
He also said: âMore troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of IllegalsâŠ. With a Wall it would be soooo much easier and less expensive. Being Built!â
Hours later, the head Democrat in the lower house of Congress, Nancy Pelosi, shot back with an equally emphatic statement that âthereâs not going to be any wall money in the legislation.â
The saga of Trumpâs troubled plan to boost defenses along the Mexican border has seen politicians and the president maneuver repeatedly in search of the right terminology.
Originally, Trump reveled in the word âwall,â leading chants at political rallies of âbuild the wall!â
But as Democrats in Congress pushed back, accusing Trump of demonizing Central American immigrants and promoting âmedievalâ wall technology, he tried to soften the message, referring to âa barrier.â
Emergency funds
Also, instead of a solid concrete structure, Trump began to emphasize that he was really asking for steel slats. âArtistically designed steel slats,â he specified in December.
Despite the word games, Democrats remained steadfast in declining to back the presidentâs signature project. This led to a standoff in which Trump â trying unsuccessfully to increase pressure on Congress â refused to fully fund government, shutting down swaths of federal jobs for five weeks.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress are now trying to come up with a border security compromise â though Pelosiâs tough statement Thursday did not augur well.
If they donât agree to provide wall funding before a February 15 deadline, Trump says heâll impose another shutdown or bypass Congress by seeking emergency funds.
âI donât think theyâre going to make a deal,â Trump told reporters on Thursday. Pelosi is âjust playing games.â
He confirmed that if wall building money is not provided, he is ready to declare an emergency. âI would do that,â he said.
Trump also indicated in another tweet the extent to which he may already be resigned to Congress not satisfying him on âthe DESPERATELY needed WALL.â
âI donât expect much help!â he said.
An emergency declaration would allow Trump to siphon off funds already appropriated for military and emergency uses. However, this would probably not end the wall debate.
Democrats have said they would likely seek a court injunction to halt use of emergency funds at the border, arguing that Trump has exaggerated the seriousness of the situation and that there is no emergency.