Trump threatens years-long shutdown, national emergency if he doesn’t get wall funding

fromacomrade:

President Donald Trump once again
unleashed what’s become his presidential hallmark: a bizarre, winding,
threatening press conference, this time following his White House
meeting with Democratic leaders Friday to try to break the impasse
causing the government shutdown.

In a long, meandering briefing
in the Rose Garden, Trump told reporters the partial shutdown now
heading into its third week could go on for months, even years, if
Democrats don’t give him the $5.6 billion he’s demanding to build a
U.S.-Mexico border wall. The Democrats have steadfastly refused. The
shutdown has affected some 800,000 federal workers — 420,000 of them forced to work without pay — since Dec. 22.

“This is national security we’re talking about,” Trump said. “We’re not talking about games.“

When asked if there was any “safety net” for workers going without pay as the shutdown continues, Trump responded: “The safety net is going to be having a strong border.”

Trump
also floated another way he could get his wall: declaring a state of
national emergency over border security to build it without
congressional approval.

“I could do it if I wanted,” Trump said.

Trump threatens years-long shutdown, national emergency if he doesn’t get wall funding