Report: Donald Trump Says 'Good Chance' He Will Declare National Emergency for Border Wall
President Donald Trump said Friday there is a “good chance” he will declare a national emergency to move forward with his plans to build an enhanced barrier along America’s southern border, according to a White House pool report.
Trump met with reporters at the White House Friday, and teased what he might talk about in his upcoming State of the Union speech.
“I’m saying, listen closely to the State of the Union, I think you’ll find it very exciting,” he said.
Elsewhere in the session, Trump repeatedly discussed his efforts to move forward on the border wall. Trump has sought $5.7 billion to move forward with wall construction. Democrats, who control the House, oppose this. Wall funding was the critical issue that triggered the recent partial government shutdown.
“We will be looking at a national emergency because I don’t think anything’s going to happen,” Trump said, according to a White House media pool report.
Trump later added that “having a national emergency does help the process. It would certainly help the process. What would help a lot is if the Democrats could actually be honest. They’re not being honest … I like to hear what they talk about in their rooms when they go back.”
When pressed again about the issue, Trump seemed to indicate an emergency declaration is likely.
“I’m certainly thinking about it. I think there’s a good chance we’ll have to do that. At the same time, regardless, we’re building the wall. And we’re building a lot of wall,” he said.
During his session with reporters, Trump was asked if he had the funds to build the wall.
“We’re already appropriated … it’s already done,” Trump said, according to a another White House media pool report. “And one of the things that we’re considering is a national emergency.”
Trump said opposition to the wall is rooted in politics.
“I don’t think Democrats want border security,” he said, according to a White House transcript of his remarrks. “And when I hear them talk about the fact that walls are ‘immoral’ and walls ‘don’t work’ – they know they work. I watched somebody being interviewed the other day by a very good anchor and the anchor was getting angrier and angrier when he tried to explain how a wall doesn’t really have much of an impact and yet thousands of people are on one side of the wall and nobody’s on the other side of the wall.”
At another point in the appearance, Trump said:
“The chant now should be ‘Finish the Wall!’ because we’re building a lot of wall. And I started this six months ago … because I could see we’re getting nowhere with the Democrats, we’re not going to get anywhere with them, it’s going to be part of their campaign, but I don’t think it’s good politically,” he said.
“I think Nancy Pelosi should be ashamed of herself because she’s hurting a lot of people. I think the Democrats should be ashamed of themselves. In all fairness to the Democrats, many of them want the wall, and I see it. They’re just dying to say what they want to say, but they can’t say it as well as they would be able to if they were allowed to do it,” he added.
Trump said Democrats on the conference committee trying to hammer out a budget compromise have been ordered not to agree to anything for the wall.
Trump said forcing everyone to use ports of entry reduces human trafficking.
“It’s very hard to do human trafficking through ports of entry because you have people standing there saying, ‘He,y what’s going on in the backseat?’ ‘What’s going on in the trunk?’ They check these things. So (human traffickers) come into areas where you don’t have the barriers,” he said.
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