President Trump was hailed as liar-in-chief on Twitter for manufacturing a fake national emergency to satisfy demands from his political base to build a wall along the Mexican border.
SEE ALSO: Trump’s Border Wall Is About ‘White Christian Dominance,’ Religious Analyst Says
Trump reportedly planned to declare a national emergency to access full funding for the barrier to keep migrants from entering the country. His expected move was prompted on Thursday by the Senate’s passage of a bipartisan spending bill that did not include the amount of money he wanted to construct the wall.
“President Trump will sign the government funding bill, and as he has stated before, he will also take other executive action — including a national emergency — to ensure we stop the national security and humanitarian crisis at the border,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “The President is once again delivering on his promise to build the wall, protect the border, and secure our great country.”
This comes on the heels of Trump partially shutting down the federal government for more than 30 days because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led Democrats in refusing to authorize the more than $5 billion he wanted to construct the wall. Ultimately, he caved and signed a temporary measure to reopen the government and pay federal employees who were told to work for weeks without getting a paycheck.
Pelosi noted on Thursday that Trump is manufacturing a crisis to get his wall. The real crisis, she said, is the gun violence across the nation–as the country paused to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
“Let’s talk about today: The one-year anniversary of another manifestation of the epidemic of gun violence in America,” Pelosi said. “That’s a national emergency. Why don’t you declare that emergency, Mr. President? I wish you would.
The wall, however, is not a done deal. Trump will likely face legal opposition to his national emergency declaration, which even some Republicans have cautioned against, according to CBS News. Part of the legal obstacles include eminent domain—taking private property for government use.
This move is really all about politics, many Trump opponents have said. He vowed to his base during his presidential campaign to build a wall that Mexico would pay for. Recently, he’s been rallying his supporters about constructing the wall by using one of his favorite tactics—fear that Black and brown people are invading the country. That strategy has worked before, and the president seems ready to use it again for his re-election bid.
Here’s what people have been saying on social media.
