State governments will soon have to start furloughing state employees and cut hundreds programs subsidized by the federal government. This is going to cost billions to state governments.
President could end this shutdown in One Minute...by signing his own Republican Budget that the Republican Congress sent to him before Christmas. Trump accepted the blame before Christmas and now he’s trying to blame everyone else. It’s Trumps shut down he can own it or end it... Trump’s choice.
This is how Trump has lived his entire life. "It's my way or the highway". If anyone disagrees with him, he first humiliates and bullies the person, then he fires them.
Trump is mentally unwell. He is incapable of acting rationally, logically and with patience and reason. All his insane twitter posts prove that to be true.
It's quite frightening to have a mentally unstable man serving our country as President. We should all be quite fearful of his inability to put the good of others ahead of his own self interest.
Trump would rather allow a million families to go without a paycheck, then back down from his demand for a wall. Why? Because Trump is afraid he would look weak. What Trump doesn't understand, is if he passed funding to keep the government open, he would actually be showing strength, kindness and compassion to the people Trump was elected to serve.
In Trump's mind - the laws of this country do not apply to him. He's a mafia boss and he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Mueller's report can't come soon enough.
2
Unpaid government workers have the power to end this by all calling in sick.
2
Declaring a national emergency when none exists looks to me like abuse of power. I believe it is also a violation of vital Constitutional norms and traditions.
Needless to say, Trump's justification for the wall is a vile stew of lies, racism, white nationalism, self-aggrandizement and fear mongering.
Legal experts have opined in other articles in this paper that Mr. Trump does have a right to declare a national emergency. Moreover, they have said that the facts might not matter.
If Trump were to declare a national emergency, there would certainly be a legal challenge.
We are at a dangerous divide. In Trump's hands, the power to declare national emergencies could derail the next election, suppress Mr. Mueller's investigation, protect Trump from justified indictments.
The immoral opportunism of the Republicans has put themselves and their country in a dangerous spot.
Republicans like Mr. Graham now apparently believe that they are facing an existential threat. If, Graham has said, they do not fall in line behind this unfit and miserable man, the presidency and his party are a lost cause.
But if they do fall in line behind this man, the nation is a lost cause along with any decent version of their party.
25
Trump declares that he did not want this fight! If this is so why did he repeat a thousand times on the campaign trail that he would build a big beautiful wall and Mexico would pay for it- he knew it was a lie but it got him applause.It was just one of his delusions-now he has to face the consequences of the lie and he is whining and trying to spread the blame around.It is his lie- he has to deal with it!
5
He then should be familiar with the guaranteed battleground: a court of law
See you there Donald
2
The only way to stop normalizing this at this point, and should have much sooner, is to recognize he is unfit and impeach him.
Let him account for his deeds and legally official US government statements (most of which are wrongly called "tweets"), if he can, under oath.
Grant him the respect of assuming he is mentally capable, able to testify honestly without knowingly presenting as truth that which is imaginary.
The dignity of believing he is mentally organized enough to offer explanations and understand and answer questions as to purpose/intent and expected benefit to the US/Americans and/or protection, defense, and preservation of the US Constitution.
Allow that he may have the stamina to sit through many hours of questioning, that he can read and comprehend government documents in English.* To think he'd send for reading glasses should he forget them.
IMPEACH.
If he can account for himself, fine. If not, let him be removed or let the GOP go down in history, on the record, forever, as having accepted insanity, gibberish, egotistical brags, whining about what he imagines others have done just as bad, and the effluent of lies.
Let's make a federal case out of it. An emergency.
Let's use the Constitution to save it from one man who is hostile to it and angrily incapable of preserving, protecting and defending it, who seeks to rewrite it by dictating.
One man's word is not law. We have far more power than he.
IMPEACH.
4
“The Art of the Deal”
by Donald Trump
Going from Mexico will pay for the wall, to building the wall by executive order with tax payer dollars! Wait until the private landowners refuse to give up their land for the wall.
The fact that he’s ‘threatening’ to declare a national emergency is buck wild.
2
That’s an appropriately chilling photo. It conveys malevolent power.
2
Everyone needs to Remember that the Republican Majority Congress passed a budget and sent it to the President before Christmas. Trump did not sign it because HIS party didn’t budget for a wall. Pelosi even offered up the same bill to the Republicans again last week and they pushed their own bill away. This is entirely a Republican shutdown.
2
A couple of thoughts. Border security is a good idea but who says building a wall is the best means to do it? Why doesn't he consider other means of achieving his goal, like better human security at checkpoints and better use of technology. Also, I would think that it's probably quite easy to get through a wall, either go over it with a rope and anchor or dig a tunnel beneath it. From that point of view having a wall that is not under intelligent surveillance is worse security.
8
He absolutely wanted this fight. It is crucial for him to set the stage for his re-election campaign, produce turnout, and frame his candidacy around this issue.
What he does not want is border security. That's why more than 90 percent of the funds currently approved and appropriated for building improved border security have gone unspent since he became President. That's why he crippled the immigration courts. That's why he ordered family separations.
A chaotic and unsecured southern border sets the stage. And his sudden ordering of federal troops to the border and his subsequent demand for more money last month was the opening salvo.
This is political theater. The media should stop playing along until they can negotiate a cut of the gate.
14
I am very sure his declaring a National Emergency can be held up in the court of laws for years to come. This is not a National Emergency. It's time to cut the lies. The Republicans would not give him his wall for the past two years. They had control of the house and the Senate. I don't want to hear any blame going on the Democrats. If he can't get what he wants from his own party then obviously not everyone thinks this is what is needed. And it looks like to me the majority has spoken
20
I hope that after this absurdist play we as a people are being subjected to ends, the lawmakers will pass an amendment to guarantee that no one can ever again take away from the American people what they the people fund. This isn't Mr. Trump's money to withhold from the workers nor his service to withhold from the citizens (although he has certainly done that). No matter which politicians or which factions are fighting, citizens of a civilized society should have the right to government services for which they pay everyday with various taxes as an agreed-upon cost of living in a society with certain standards of living. No one should have the power to withhold government service from its citizens.
10
If any of the Republicans in the House have the intellectual honesty to see this as superseding their role in the appropriations process, they should talk to Speaker Pelosi--who unlike anybody else in Congress has a theoretically non-partisan office.
Then they should file a bill of impeachment--against VP Pense, for clearly overlooking lots of evidence that it's time to consider the 25th amendment.
3
First of all, we know that Trump himself is the national emergency. If he calls a national emergency will the troops he calls to action refuse his order? Military is obliged to obey an order ... unless the order is against the law. Would Trump’s call for a national emergency when there is none, legal? If it’s not legal then the troops can disobey the order. Then what? Will McConnell hide under his desk?
4
Why wasn’t this a national emergency two years, two months, two weeks ago when the GOP controlled all three branches of government?
Welcome to the next two years of Trump
versus the Democrats.
3
I look forward to seeing the Democratic president who replaces him declare a national health care emergency on day one, to get those pesky special interests out of the way and shut down any meaningful debate, and to make sure the GOP can't do anything to block it.
3
Why would anyone expect the Dems in the house to support wall money when they were elected specifically to oppose it?
Do we expect the GOP to advocate for single payer or fund climate change research? Do we expect the GOP to institute rational gun control? Do we expect the GOP to fund education or legislate against inequality?
The difference is the majority of Americans support the positions that the GOP opposes, and support the Dems.
Stay strong, Dems.
5
The emergency is that he's being exposed as a fraud who makes promises beyond his power to keep and not the great deal maker he claims to be.
2
Increasingly, I have this feeling that the President wants to get impeached and the shenanigans are the childish game of ‘let’s see how much I can get away with till they call my bluff’. He is ill at ease with his position. What initially felt like a fantastic achievement in his otherwise ‘flat’ career, has now resulted in him realising its a far more serious call than what he expected. Amazingly, the lack of unanimous support for impeachment has made him realise he can get away with anything.
3
Mr.Trump has disregarded all other government agencies-he has disdain for the FBI, the CIA, The Justice Department , the State Department and the Military- He has fires the heads of all of these agencies.Big problem- he cannot fire Speaker Pelosi and dispense with the House of Representatives.They were , in fact, just elected in November as a repudiation of Trump.He cannot bully them- he will have to learn to compromise- please, someone teach him that word- it is not in his vocabulary.
2
Agreed, we have an emergency. But first we all must recognize and admit that this latest Trump created distraction takes our focus as a nation away from the deep infection at the root of the problem. I don't know how to "unpoliticize" a crisis abetted by polititians acting as contractors to their wealthy donors. Of course they all take $, but who do these graying men serve? We cannot accept the US government's inability to keep it's doors open and pay it's workers. Republicans must now pivot to the truth and meet their Democratic colleagues and act together. We refuse to shuffle with walkers as a crippled state which cannot keep close our allies or honestly debate critical national issues while missing payroll for our employees. Yet our directors (Congress) and CEO fight and draw salaries. Remember the misguided voices of "run America like a business"? Even by that (false) standard we are bankrupt. The issue is not another failed Trump branded money hole, it's a President who was elected in large part due to psych ops (propaganda on steroids) by a dangerous Russian dictator. Trump knows this, whether he was involved personally or not. He distracts using the same tactics when nominated and "elected" using the media to spotlight anywhere else but at that critical truth. The Times just informed us what Manafort did and with whom, facts that cannot be ignored. Senator McConnell, it's time to act. This is the heroic moment we hope our children will recount (in English).
4
This is a big pain for Trump but it is not a national emergency. He has no business declaring phony emergencies. It would be an abuse of power and malfeasance both, and it would force Republicans as well as Democrats to both stop him and censure his actions if he did so.
1
By all appearances, Donald has managed the heretofore unachieved feat of neutering Mitch. I find this somewhat astounding. I wonder if it is some sort of pact; they are both completely untrustworthy and power mad.
2
The one thing that has been revealed here is that Donald Trump really isn't much of a dealmaker after all.
2
Mitch McConnell is clearly standing passively behind Trump -- but not because he feels the fate of the Republican Party depends on solidarity -- but because Trump will expose their post-primary win machinations and agreements if Mitch goes south on him.
Two men. Two traitors to our country.
2
Can't wait to see the so-called conservatives clamoring for eminent domain just to pass the planning phase.
2
I suppose that the Trump's statement "Crisis of the Heart" or "Crisis of the Soul" or whatever he said was not working out for him.
That is what happens when you read a prepared speech not of your own creation.
It is looks like he is going to pull that Autocrat thing of declaring a "National Emergency" to get the US Army to build the Wall, get it named after him, grant salaries to those he deems his supporters among the Federal workers, read that, the uniformed services, and more importantly to him, have him lead his own Military parade at the Border.
Of course, ending the Mueller investigation might also be in that "Strong Man" thing.
1
The national emergency is Dangerous Donald Trump.
22
If Trump's abuse of the power of the presidency becomes 'absolute', by declaring an emergency where there is none, article 25 of the constitution may be invoked as a last measure to save the republic from a madman.
20
I would like to see Nancy Pelosi stand toe-to-toe with Mr. Trump and echo his refrain "I didn't want to move to impeach you for actions against the Constitution of the United States of America. I hope you will not force this issue".
13
Last night on television president Trump spoke of “soul”. This was a strange new word in the vocabulary of a man who has no soul but rather is possessed of a vengeful spirit.
The vast majority of Americans oppose the hyper-costly Trumpian egoist wall and yet he and his would force it on us. No! In this instance the Democrats are right to say No! There are better more needful ways to spend 5.6 billion dollars like food for the poor education and gun control.
21
His Senators? The Senate is his? He really doesn’t have the slightest understanding of the US Constitution. Interesting ...
31
He gives the impression of a giant toddler completely out his depth whose water wings have fallen off. He is dragging a great country with him. Tragic.
14
If I understand him correctly, he is “thinking” of declaring an emergency.
I would have thought that when there is an emergency we act, not think about it.
If there is a fire, a hurricane, a misile coming our way, 9/11, I hope he makes a faster decision.
Fortunately there is no real emergency now. Unfortunately he is doing a horrendous damage to our country and hurting all these people that live check to check.
What a selfish person!
14
MY House?
MY senators??
This is America Trump.
WE THE PEOPLE elect the Senate and House.
You are not in Russian government but feel free to makes the move at any time
And the money you propose to waste is OUR money and we say NO
23
Why doesn't go ahead and do it already?
Why didn't the GOP just pass funding for the wall over the past 2 years while they had the majority? Lord knows there's no deficit or debt level that gets in their way.
I think the Democrats are going to demonstrate to the spineless Republicans in congress that Trump is all bark and no bite.
His base is overrated, the intelligence community and military have been disrespected way too much, the only people left are bottom of the barrel, and he is just not that smart.
15
"I didn't want this fight" ...... Of COURSE he didn't want this fight. He just wanted absolute obedience. That's all.
17
I wonder why the Senate Republicans are impotent. What does Trump and Putin have on them?
17
"MY senators." Who does he think he is? Does he understand that members of the legislature represent the will of the people? Not his will. This man must be stopped at all costs. I would like his entire bloodline to go down in flames.
17
The script Trump is following seems pretty clear. He lost his total control of government in the last election and so he must move to unilateral governing. But in a constitutional democracy governing takes place only through the checks and balances designed into the three part government. Except that in the bottom of the presidential file drawer someone found the never used emergency management laws. Written decades ago, passed by Congress, and still in force today, these laws allow a president to wave the authority of Congress and the rule of law to enact immediate emergency measures to save the country. Certainly the lawmakers of the past never envisioned giving such powers to a maniac, they believed that only the wisest and most controlled of men would ever sit in the oval office, so these enacted laws were left like a fire extinguisher for future presidents to use on a temporary basis. But the laws are written so that all that is necessary to trigger them is a signature from the president, there is no oversight or definition about what an emergency is. And once triggered the constitution is waved until the president declares the emergency is over.
Trump is using his reality show skills to create a scenario where he will be forced to declare an emergency and so will reluctantly pick up the mantle of dictator to save us from the crisis on the southern border. Is there anyone out there who does not see that this emergency will never end?
13
When the air traffic controllers went on strike Ronald Reagan fired them. These federal workers who are not being paid are not on strike. If they walk off their jobs can Trump fire them? They should band together and contact a few lawyers to find out what the law is. If they find out walking off their jobs will not cost them their jobs, they should walk. No pay. No work.
9
And exactly how does that help those individuals?
When will it be enough for GOP Senators? You know how to overcome McConnell's refusal to bring the measure passed by the house to a vote. Trump has made an outright announcement that he is willing to try an unconstitutional authoritarian power grab based on a false National Emergency if he doesn't get what he wants. Federal Courts are running out of money and have stayed the majority of civil litigation. The Senate needs to act now so he has no excuse to call a National Emergency and try to grab more power.
8
How incredible is it that Mitch McConnell has decided to hitch his wagon to trump? They passed a veto-proof bill to fund the government before Christmas, and now he’s afraid to send it to trump because he says he won’t sign it. Where’s the win in this?
9
@Buck Thorn
It's worse than fear. Leader McConnell is effectively giving Mr. Trump a veto before legislation is passed, not afterwards, as outlined by the Constitution. Mr. Trump is not allowed to spend money except per House appropriation, and the GOP may want to think hard about which matters most them: Mr. Trump or the Constitution.
1
As a Republican, my take is that the Democrats are hoping to take over the country permanently through demographic state flipping. So the Wall may be the first intractable clash of parties and maybe one of the last peaceful one. Democrats seem yo think this is going to go your way. I wouldn’t be so sure. If you think Republicans are desperate, you’re right, and at some point we all have to stand and fight or perish. We may be at that point.
2
This is what Don Trump said about the fight he started;
“This is not a fight I wanted,” Mr. Trump said. “I didn’t want this fight.”
1
Declaring a state of emergency would truly be the first concrete step toward dismantling our country. This is how dictators behave. We will have crossed the Rubicon.
9
"My Senators" he says, as if they are his employees. That's what he thinks of democratically elected representatives. They are his property.
11
The emergency being starving, evicted, hopeless government workers and the economic fallout from the government shut down?
7
"National emergency" (?) because Trump can't get funding for HIS expensive ineffective wall. This is crazy and a total misuse of presidential power. Trump is unhinged and doing a lot more harm than good.
It appears Mitch McConnell and too many GOP politicians are making terrible decisions for this country because these men, who present themselves as tough and strong, are truly scared of Trump's avid base. I guess this "base" is all the GOP can count on for votes besides the wealthy elites.
No thinking required. The 35-40% of Trump supporters will stick with Trump no matter what he does. They don't care what he is "for"-- a useless, waste-of-taxpayer dollars wall that 70% of Americans think is a bad idea, tax advantages for the rich that hurt the middle class, brining back coal, trashing environmental regulations for clean air and water, and the total misinformation, disinformation, and outright lies Donald spews every time he gets in front of a microphone or exercises his calloused "twitter fingers" on his smart phone.
Instead, they adore him for what he is against: civil rights, people of color, globalization, immigrants (even baby immigrants) from south of the equator, a woman's right to choose and for fair pay, and our own government.
And they don't care about the federal employees that will not receive paychecks on Friday, because many Trump hardcore Trump supporters resent government employees who have better paying jobs with decent benefits.
10
At best, this would be an excellent source of employment for lawyers. At worst, this would be just another example of the fact that Trump is an entertainer, not a politician.
Why does this paper continue to act as if every tweet or comment from Trump has substantive meaning? Why do they let him totally control the "news"? Or, as with the President, has "journalistic" substance been replaced by ratings, eyeballs, likes, etc.?
7
I believe the American people should demand an end to this Twilight Zone episode. Each one of us should write a letter saying simply, "We accept your resignation," mail them to the White House, and flood it with paper. If nothing else, hundreds of millions of letters would leave no standing room in the White House and would give the USPS some much needed business.
16
Now there's an idea. I like it.
1
And so it begins. A blustering, malevolent, incompetent "President," who has no idea how the federal government works, how laws are made and above all, no idea how to govern, has given up even the pretense of trying.
Trump is now convinced it's his way or the highway. He is emboldened by the 'yes men' he has gathered around him - having jettisoned anyone who had the temerity to tell him he must play by the rules; anyone who has attempted to rein him in or even declined to heap undeserved praise on him when demanded. He gains strength from the yammering of the likes of Coulter, Limbaugh, Hannity and other vulgar right-wing extremist blabbermouths.
And now comes the whisper in his ear: 'you can do it yourself, no matter what Congress may say, no matter that a strong majority of the population is opposed. You've got the power to have it your way.'
The wall is a folly; and everyone, Republican or Democrat, knows that it is. No matter. Now this is all about power -- how to grasp it and keep it. It's about pressing limits. If Trump can pull this one off, there will be more to come, over more consequential matters than whether to squander $5 billion or $10 billion on a stupid, useless construction project that will benefit no one but a handful of contractors feeding at the trough - essentially a freeway ramp to nowhere.
This "national emergency" is just plain silly. It's the next one that worries me. No exaggeration here - we're on a slippery slope towards dictatorship.
47
Yes. Trump and his supporters actually think he has the powers of a dictator.
11
And this is what you get for ignoring the rest of us while Obama was in office. You tried to force feed us and tell us it was good for us, and we had enough. We don’t all necessarily like every aspect of this President, but he is doing exactly what he was voted in to do.
1
Should the third rate despot invoke unilateral powers to satisfy his ego, will Congress then realize he is ripe and ready for the loony bin?
19
"My senators"? In what way shape or form does any senator, Republican or otherwise, belong to Donald Trump. What a sham
33
His desire to rule, authoritarian-style, springs out of his love for strongman despots like Putin, Jong-Un, Duterte, etc. To hint at declaring a "national emergency" for his ineffective, unnecessary wall, without congressional approval, is deeply disturbing and illustrative of his unstable nature. Everything about this president screams unfit for office —
GOP, what are you going to *do* about Trump?
Do you hate our country so much that you'll continue propping up this naked emperor, at the expense of democracy? He, his malignant ego, and false crises must go.
24
Hopefully this experience will be so nasty he won't even want to run again in 2020. Plus, he is not even getting paid (except from Putin), so why would he WANT to run. And when his tax returns are released his goose will be thoroughly cooked. Just go away now Donny, please.
8
Don’t cave in Mr. Trump.
3
@Luke Ramundo Is Mexico paying for the wall? He already caved. This is the stage where he declares bankruptcy and runs away.
11
@Luke Ramundo
He may not cave. We will all fall down the cave.
Not sure who would save us. If there was an emergency he should not be “thinking” about it.
Let’s hope we don’t have a real emergency on his watch.
6
Can anyone say, “Reichstag fire?”
What better way to make sure that his Tax returns are not shared with Congress than to have the IRS functioning at approximately 10%?
What better way to impact the judiciary? And now a national emergency? This is a power grab! Remember, Trump and Co have everything to loose if Mueller and the House Dems manage to expose him/them for the monsters that they truley are. When are we going to stop thinking that we are dealing with reasonable, decent people and recognize that we are at war with real thugs?!
27
Good Read from USA TODAY: Half the 600,000 residents aided by NYC Care are undocumented immigrants
John Bacon, USA TODAY Published 11:02 a.m. ET Jan. 9, 2019 | Updated 4:53 p.m. ET Jan. 9, 2019
De Blasio said NYC Care will provide primary and specialty care from pediatric to geriatric to 600,000 uninsured New Yorkers. De Blasio estimated the annual cost at $100 million.
1
@Anna Exactly why we need Medicare for All.
4
New Yorkers understand the economics of health care and that it is much more expensive for tax payers when treatable conditions advance due to a lack of health insurance. NY is making a smart move fiscally. Oh and we believe people should not die because they are poor and uninsured since we are all humans.
5
@Anna, it's a bit of a digression, but $100 million to do primary and specialty care of 600,000 people works out to about $140 per person per year. My current Obamacare premium is $800 per month, and health care spending per capita in America is north of $10,000 per annum, according to Kaiser-Permanente. If DiBlasio can pull this off, he should be made Comptroller General for the Universe. But, he can't.
(If you figure that two-thirds to one-half of the illegal immigrants (let's say 8 out of the 20 million) are currently getting publicly funded health care, we're looking at $80 billion right there).
4
Doesn't the fact that Trump has not declared a state of emergency establish that there is no emergency? Emergency means it is urgent that action be taken. We're sitting around with a government shutdown for three weeks with no untoward or devastating consequences. World War II/Pearl Harbor was an emergency, 9/11 was an emergency. People seeking asylum does not an emergency make. The fact that the nation sits idly by while the president lies to our faces, and Mitch McConnell looks on grinning-this country has just gone completely down the toilet. No one can respect a country that permits this nonsense to go on without protest. The real emergency is climate change. The real travesty is wage stagnation for workers since Reagan, the hollowing out of the middle class, that our biggest "industry" is financial shenanigans and electronic toys and distracting ourselves with endless streaming entertainment. We better wake up before it is too late.
22
"I didn't want this fight," said Trump.
Of course he did, and of course so do Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter who represent the real Republican Party these days. This is what they live for. It's good for business, for ratings and it keeps their base angry and engaged.
This is government-by-demagoguery, courtesy of the Far-Right, and so now millions of innocent Americans are being victimized. But since gratuitous cruelty is the mothers-milk of the GOP, that's just the icing on the cake to them.
18
This would be, if it occurs, a presidentially-declared national emergency to protect the president against accountability for his incessantly mendacious abuse of power. As such, it is impeachable.
16
@John lebaron
But there is no one with a moral fiber in the GOP to do it.
All selfish, disgraceful people.
4
Donald Trump is our national emergency and the Republican refusal to build a wall around him is a dereliction of duty to protect the United States from an invasion of non sequitors.
19
The founding fathers ensured there were checks and balances so that the President did not have too much power. Trump wants to change that and become dictator of America.
10
@Joseph B And the GOP are complicit.
3
If Trump declares and emergency in order to try to build a wall, then the House should immediately move to impeach him.
15
The only "emergency" in tRumps mind is the fact that if he doesn't get his wall built, he will lose the support of his base, Coulter, Limbaugh and Hannity will call him out on it, and he will lose re-election.
That's all - he couldn't care less about any facts like the plunging rates of immigration from the southern border since 2000, the fact that the crime rate is less among immigrants than Native-Born Americans, that most of the drugs he cites that are killing Americans are opioids either from domestic drug companies or Fentanyl sent in the mail from China or that more than 800,000 Americans are going to go without pay for a wall that Mexico was supposed to have paid for by now.
8
If Trump does indeed abuse his presidential power and declares an emergency, he should be promptly arrested.
6
Trump slamming his hand on the table in anger when the Democrats wouldn't agree to give him the money he was demanding shows an utter lack of fistal responsibility on his part.
9
The quotes in this piece are absolutely delicious. That Trump describes McConnell as "incredible" and as one of "my Senators" is hilarious. Mitch must love the notion of such ownership.
Makes me hope McConnell has a rolled up copy of Forbes Magazine on his desk.
And with that, please pass the bourbon.
4
The prior President could have stood his ground and demanded a Medicare for all, but he didn’t. Whatever you say about Trump at least he is adamant about keeping a promise he made on the campaign trail.
7
@Marie Seton
The "prior President" could have stood his ground until the cows came home but it would've made no difference because he still wouldn't have gotten past Mitch McConnell and a Republican Congress intent on blocking his every move.
There. I fixed that for you.
19
Correct me if I’m wrong but the words I hear from his mouth were, “Mexico will be paying for the wall.”.....
16
@Marie Seton the prior president didn't do that because this is what crybabies do, and Obama wasn't a crybaby. In fact, he withstood unprecedented amounts of resistance from the GOP, but he still maintained is dignity. The wall wasn't really even a campaign promise as much as it was an applause point for his speeches. And the fact that he is adamant about "keeping his promise" at the expense of regular, hard working federal employees is ludicrous and heartless. Shame on Trump for this and anyone who supports him.
17
Good Lord, I hope he does.
Then, the second a Democrat ascends to the Oval Office, I hope he or she uses the precedent established by President Trump to declare a "national healthcare emergency" and institute Medicare for all--including a mobilization of the entire National Guard to provide "emergency healthcare" in all 50 states, free of charge.
Then, I hope he or she declares a "national education emergency," using federal powers and emergency funds to "eminent domain" all education loans currently held by private lenders, in order to provide immediate relief for all outstanding student loans.
It would almost certainly precipitate a Supreme Court challenge--but it would be so worth it to watch the insurance and educational finance industries squirm.
41
@Anonymous Bosch
Very clever, Mr. Bosch. Yet wouldn't Medicare for all in 50 states be exorbitantly costly. Would there be any cost controls?
Yeah I pay $68 dollars a month for my medical coverage. Sure we may have a little bit longer wait times but nobody in my country has gone bankrupt due to medical bills. When I say I pay $68 a month I mean that that is the total amount. Unless I want a TV in my hospital room, I think that's five bucks a day. if I was poor I would pay nothing. (except for the tv) Even if you came to Canada for treatment as an uninsured foreigner your cost would be about 10% of what you pay in America.
we are not going bankrupt as a country due to the cost of healthcare. not even close.
the issue you seem to have in America is an unwarranted fear of anything socialized. I get why the health industry in America is against such a thing and spends billions of dollars convincing your government and populus how bad it would be. I wonder where they get the money to do that?
oh right.....
Editor’s note: This comment has been anonymized in accordance with applicable law(s).
5
@Peter Lobel
Please share with us what cost controls are currently in place with our existing health care system.
1
Let him declare a national emergency. Then let the Democrats introduce a unanimous bill of impeachment.
40
Donald must secretly enjoy being embarrassed in federal court.
17
@Jeremy
Closed for the duration.
1
Now that he lost the shutdown fight after holding taxpayers hostage, he's threatening to hold the constitution hostage, lol. This circus is getting better by the hour. I hope he keeps it up till the bitter end and take the whole Republican party down with him.
22
You've been itching for this fight since the Mueller investigation began. And the rest of your party is frightened and inept.
8
His Senators, His house Rep and His Base.
How about "all Americans".
11
@sebastianj
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.
Bob Dylan
2
@sebastianj
How about a President who honors and represents "all Americans"???
That's easy...VOTE.
1
With all due respect, the real national emergency is this man being elected president in the first place.
40
"I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want.”
Trump’s comment about having “an absolute right” to "do" a national emergency over his wall makes me suspicious where exactly he would build it.
Trump’s “absolute” certainty recalls the gaffe Absolut Vodka made in 2008, angering the USA with its “In an Absolut World” Mexican publicity campaign.
It displayed an old map of Mexican borders as they were before the Mexican-American war of 1848, which at that time included modern-day California, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Arizona.
Here we’ve been thinking Trump’s working for the Russians. No, silly, "absolutely" not. It’s been the Mexicans all along.
5
By saying that he will declare a "State of Emergency" if, and only if, the House doesn't approve his folly, Trump has made clear that this is all a tactic, that there IS no "State of Emergency" and that such a declaration is fraudulent. It is not an "emergency" that he can't have his way. It is not an "emergency" that Trump is humiliated. Second, any construction of a wall would take years, which obviously is not the timeline associated with an "emergency."
17
David, don you understand the tremendous flow of cheap drugs into our country is an emergency.
3
Funny thing is Trump is preventing DHS from addressing this issue. The Dems want to see more funding at ports of entry to stop the drugs through better technological detection. Drugs come through ports primarily and not through the desert or wilderness areas where Trump wants a physical Barrier.
2
Well Mr. President, it's a fight that you said we could blame on you. You told the American people this would happen, you told them this would be your shutdown, and here you are. Own it.
You absolutely wanted this fight. You can't claim you didn't want it just because you're going to lose.
20
He shd be warned that calling an emergency on a win- with no justification- is an abuse of power that will warrant congressional investigation & shd the time come for impeachment (soon!) he could be so charged in a bill of impeachment.
4
So it’s only a national emergency because Trump can’t have his way?
15
People - Pay no attention to the man with the orange hair behind the curtain...don't lose sight of the real issue which is that Russia conspired to swing our election towards Chump, and we just found out that Chump's campaign chairman provided Chump confidential campaign survey information to a former Russian agent with ties to the Kremlin. Think about that for a minute - confidential campaign information to the Kremlin right after the DNC e-mails had been hacked. A border wall budget fight is a welcome and desired distraction from the ongoing Russia investigation. Mr. Mueller, keep up the excellent work and care to weigh-in anytime soon? We're dying to hear everything you've found out and got to share with us.
16
@L I totally agree with you comment especially the last statement, “...Donald Trump the weakest President ever.”
Hmmm maybe we should begin a tweet with that. Maybe it will go viral?
2
If we take President Trump's logic of famous, wealthy people having concrete walls around their homes to protect themselves and their families, then answer the following questions.
Why is there only a metal fence and not a 20 foot tall concrete wall around Trump's White House?
Why is there no 20 foot tall concrete wall around Trump's Mar-A-Lago?
6
@Richard Pontone
Because he has tax-payer paid Secret Service to protect him.
DJT's entire presidency has been a colossal waste of time and has only emboldened and strengthened our adversaries! It makes complete sense that Putin and his cronies planted DJT in the Oval Office in order to weaken Western social institutions. We must impeach, prosecute and imprison DJT.
21
The legal folks in the White House are advised to instruct federal law enforcement to lock down the 9th circuit - so to speak.
The minute POTUS finishes signing the Declaration - a lawyer is going to rush in the 9th circuit and petition for a nationwide ban or a stay.
And before the ink of his John Hancock is dry - a ban will be issued.
We are becoming not a nation of people, by the people and for the people.
But a country - governed by the 9th circuit.
1
@Neil
You're on the wrong website. This is the New York Times, not Fox News.
7
Federal Court's on hold for civil matters- no funding
Any president who declares a national emergency when in fact there is no emergency is dangerous and needs to be immediately removed from office
29
I cant comprehend how any sane American cannot feel urgently that we are in a very dangerous crisis: Trump, who is obviously semi-psychotic as well as nasty and probably beholden to Putin, and his remaining Republican supporters. What about destroying our country and dismantling our government and economy is in their best interests?? Its hard not to wonder if the Russians have kompramat on them, too- or if they are getting some other kind of benefit like money funneled into their superpacs. Or maybe they are being blackmailed by someone else? Such scenarios seemed more farfetched before we learned about Butina.
5
The only emergency we have right now is that a sick, despotic man is in office and thinks that he can invoke emergency powers.
17
The day trump declares a national emergency and gets away with it will be the day that he threatens to shut the government down if the Muller Investigation is also shut down. It will be a total dictatorship.
At some point responsible "Republicans" need to grow a spine and stop us from degenerating into a Banana Republic.
8
Pelosi/Shumer, please remember that, if you give an inch to the hostage taker, he'll do it again. And again. And again. You have to break the enfant terrible right here, right now. No face saving, no carrot. Just keep telling American people that the government must be reopened first before can talk about the border.
12
If Trump was confident in his Emergency threat he would have declared so last night, with a national audience. That leaves us with another day maybe two days of bluster before Senators start doing their job. Trump has nothing; bullying tactics do not work, he's way over his lazy, feeble capacity.
5
Now if only you had a figurehead for all the anti Trump supporters to rally behind, he or she would be gaining political traction right now with a two year lead up to the election.
It's the one thing lacking in this tragicomedy that is Trumps incumbency; no leader of the opposition on which you can focus all your energy all your disgust and all your hopes and dreams.
3
now, now, just wait until sometime will walk back that statement. this coverage is a waste is time
A national emergency would be a ridiculous abuse of p
2
Everyday Trump warns or threatens to use emergency powers. If it really is an emergency why hasn’t he acted? It appears that he is not the man of action that he dreams he is.
2
From a global standpoint, America appears to be a very unstable country these days. With a government in shutdown status, who would want to invest here? What about the currency of reserve? We could easily become one of those countries that experiences hyper inflation if we keep on going the way we are. I do believe we need to address illegal immigration, but, building a wall will not solve that. It will be a tremendous waste of money ending in failure. If we are concerned about drugs entering our country, It because we are their best customers. Solve that.
9
We’ve reached a stop in the national dispute over the border wall that is really based upon the classic problem of borderline walls in general...
Walls are good to protect castles, but what about countries? If you build a length of wall, and people can’t go over it, then they’ll go around the ends. Then you make it longer, but the same thing happens again. Soon, the wall would have to be the entire southern border, thousands of miles long. Now, it’s hard to permanently man, and people will go under and over it. Walls are not that good at protecting nations. We would do better with high tech surveillance of the borderline of our country than this giant red herring from Trump.
3
Seems by now that the overarching purpose pertaining to this masquerade of roundtable by now is finally coming to an end as if it was, all along and by default, some subverted means to expose to all to see the extent of the chiasm opposing Democrats and Trump on the question of the wall funding, among so many other issues.
Meanwhile and not too unsurprisingly, out of sheer frustration, Trump digs in his heels while making it clear he won't back down. Fine, since on the other end of the spectrum, team Pelosi-Schumer is planning on doing nothing else than mimicry that hardline stance, themselves unwilling to parlay meanwhile retrenching deeper in their position, so that, all in all, and in the worse of all worlds, the situation is on the fast track to further exacerbate itself.
How about next election (if we have one, and if Trump is up again), everybody agrees not to splinter the opposition vote amongst various 3rd party candidates with no chance of winning because of a need to express oneself by only voting for someone who perfectly expresses one’s ideologically pure sentiments 100%?
3
There is current debate as to whether the Supreme Court has the jurisdiction to overrule a declaration of a national emergency by a president. Even if they do, its doubtful that the conservative-packed Supreme Court would do it. If Trump does declare this bogus national emergency and gets away with this end run around Congress, he will be emboldened even further. What's next, Trump asserts his "absolute right" to declare martial law, the last step before a democracy becomes a dictatorship?
5
Among the first analytical comments I heard on several media outlets was, "why didn't he declare a national emergency?"
The media-entertainment conglomerates that couldn't get enough of Donald during the campaign -- he was so entertaining -- are now goading him to rupture the powers of the presidency.
It reminds me of The Caine Mutiny. Maybe the press could gin up a national emergency even if there wasn't one coming.
2
Maybe he can declare an emergency and build the wall, and maybe, just maybe, he can be on the other side of it when it is built.
That would justify the emergency. We need to get him out of this country and keep him out.
Build The Wall!... With Trump on the other side.
3
We may have 3 branches of government but they aren't all connected to the same tree. Trump has misinterpreted our system of checks and balance. He wants checks only if his name is on them and without leaving any balance for the rest of us.
3
I say red herring because the zero tolerance policy, an executive branch enforcement decree that was signed by President Trump, precipitated forced separations and the release of audio and video of traumatized children in the national media. Therefore the illusion of an ‘emergency’ was partially created by the President. In addition, to build a wall in an emergency is two concepts oxymoronically related to each other; they don’t go together.
Let’s analyze the politicians’ speeches last night on the three classic points of ethos, pathos, and logos, which the ancient Greeks identified as the ways that politicians generally appeal to the mass public. We heard pathos and ethos from Trump, who addressed the public’s fear and disgust over illegals and then discussed ‘wall morality’; then Pelosi and Schumer response mentioned the ethos of the ‘Statue of Liberty vs. a 30ft wall’ as the symbol of immigration in the American conscience.
What was missing last night was enough logos from the President. This was because the Administration has not published its factual report on wall extension, or shared it with the legislators. The decision rests upon the real needs and budgeting priorities based upon facts, those must be produced in order to proceed at all.
2
Have the 11-30 million criminals plead to a deal, pay a $1000 fine, get legal status, do 2-4 weeks of community service (build imediate wall), be on probation for 4-6 years for citizenship (another fee of $1000).
Trump and Reps make money, get revenue for the wall and border security, and know who's here in the country. If undocumented do not come forward in 3 years, deport without due process.
Very simple.
Once again, the president demonstrates his ignorance of government. He does not have an "absolute right" as president to do anything. He has certain powers; individuals have rights. The president has "power" to veto bills, to pardon criminals, and to do many other things. "Power" and "right" are different things.
The president, regrettably, believes that he is entitled to act unilaterally, without what he regards as interference from the legislature, the judiciary, or the Constitution, which he apparently considers a waste of parchment. In addition to not knowing the difference between "power" and "right," he has no idea of the difference between a dictator and a public servant. He thinks he is the former. I can agree with him on one thing: he certainly is not the latter.
4
Stocks will tank. Who wants to do business with a country in a national emergency?
2
The emergency is of Trump's own making, to invoke emergency powers is frivolous and will redound to his and the nation's disfavor.
1
I'm pretty sure Trump can "do a national emergency" if there is actually a national emergency. Trump himself is the only current national emergency, so maybe they can build a wall around him.
2
@RFC
And your country can pay for it.
2
The tail that wags the dog. This is what we are ultimately dealing with. Donald's tale to his base about building a wall and having Mexico pay for it is now wagging his dog of a presidency.
If this were so not disgusting, SNL would have mountains of material to work with for the entire next season. Indeed they do.
What worries me most is that the hinges are becoming unscrewed. That Donald might actually be reaching a point in which a cornered dog is extremely dangerous.
Simply because there is no other place for the dog to run.
2
@RichardS
He's already called for SNL to be regulated--let's hope that the episode this Saturday doesn't trigger something (remember the phone calls Chevy Chase used to get during the news? Maybe Mr. Trump will try regulating the show by personal executive action.)
We have a National Emergency and it is the President of the United States.
This man has lost all sense of decency by trying to claim that a group of immigrants that are trying to seek asylum in our country are one and the same as the 9/11 terrorists.
The fact that there are bad people out there that may try to enter this country does not make every single one of them bad, but to listen to Trump he sees it that way.
The only real bad people out there right now is the entire Trump administration.
2
There's a new expression in town: Wall for one and one for wall.
2
"reserve[ing] the option of declaring a national emergency to build his border wall without congressional approval" only goes to show Trump's desperation. He's terrified that if he doesn't get his "manly" wall, he will not get the backing of those who voted for him two years ago.
To quote a line from the movie Blazing Saddles :
"Well, can't you see that's the last act of a desperate man?"
4
"My Senators". Donald J Trump Augustus over here. How ANY person who has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States can support this man and stand with him just shows us all how far America and the idea of America has crumbled. They are all standing with a man who not only doesn't care about the US Constitution, but is actively subverting it through his casual impersonation of a king. There is a clear national emergency and it's that Congress isn't moving fast enough to unceremoniously toss this destructive man out of the chair he sits in.
4
The only reason Trump is being so firm on this is because of the Conservative Pundits. Meanwhile, real Americans are suffering. The Wall is strictly for his Base. Does his Base forgive him for lying when he said Mexico would pay for the Wall?
5
If Trump declares an emergency to build this wall, and the Republicans and the conservative majority on the Supreme Court are OK with it, then I assume they’ll be totally OK with it when a future Democratic president declares a state of emergency for our healthcare system, nationalizes the healthcare industry and institutes Medicare for all.
214
@Evan
“If Trump declares an emergency to build this wall, and the Republicans and the conservative majority on the Supreme Court are OK with it,” we might not have to worry about future presidents of any party.
9
Evan,
Or bans gun ownership to protect the American people (gun violence really IS a national emergency).
5
@Evan
State of Emergencies only get enacted once. They are never unenacted so there will be no more elections, future Democratic presidents, newspapers, etc.
This entire fiasco is happening because Donald Trump was criticized by crazy gas bags Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, two of the vilest people on earth, who have made millions of dollars sowing hatred and divisiveness.
Our country is being held hostage by extreme conservative right-wing kooks and Donald Trump, the weakest president we've ever had.
185
@L
America's right-wing media is now the fourth branch of the federal government.
4
@Barbara, but evidently the most powerful.
@L
A better way to think about it is that the country is being run by Fox News and that Congress is now completely superfluous. Nancy Pelosi should appeal to Fox News to end the shut down and find a face saving way for Trump to get out of this. If Fox News says the alternative is OK then the base will believe it as well. She could enlist Fox News in a spin program and have the government open tomorrow. I hope she tries this before it is too late.
The photo of those corrupt GOP sycophants surrounding a man they all know to be a destructive, incompetent demagogue encapsulates what's wrong with this country today. What's wrong, primarily, is the Republican Party, a collection of morally bankrupt frauds whose only concerns are money and power.
128
@MisterE
Even the so-called moderates are frauds. With very rare exceptions (McCain, Murkowski) they talk a good tune then vote as if their words had been meaningless.
13
@mancuroc
On the Democratic side of the aisle you can add Joe Manchin to that list. I look forward to the day when he's replaced by a real Democrat. Let him join the GOP where he belongs.
4
If I still referred to them, completely without irony, as a "G[rand] O[ld] P[arty]," I wouldn't be calling other people sycophants. Just saying.
1
He says he has the right to " do national emergency" ? The man's an ignoramus. We should be ashamed of ourselves for not guarding our precious democratic covenants more closely. We got what we deserved with this fool through lack of vigilance and passivity.
Rise up angry my fellow citizens! It grows too late.
60
The only way is to take to the streets. I'll come down to DC from Canada. Who is organizing?
1
@fme What do we do?! Refuse to pay taxes? He gets away with that, too.
The man is invincibly ignorant. Mitch McConnell is not helping. Republican senators are not "his senators." By not preserving the separation of powers, McConnell and those who agree with him are abandoning their obligation to act independently in the interest of the people, not the president or his base. This is the stuff of governmental collapse.
92
I'm still trying to learn who these "dozens" of families he consoled...whose "children were stolen by illegal immigration".
Could he have underplayed the numbers by referring to the thousands of children locked in kiddie-kennels around the country resulting from Jeff Sessions [Then don't bring them here] and Kirstjen Nielsen's [We don't separate children] policies?
21
@Candlewick Don't forget the tear gas.
3
Just another one of his self-manufactured crises. I just love the way he start a fight and then claims he didn't want it. Yes you did, Donald: It's who you are, always have been, and always will be. You're a destroyer, not a builder. Anything to be the center of attention. Anything. Enjoy the spotlight when you can. Soon your charade of a presidency will be over – it just can't be soon enough.
65
Everyday the headline should read...GOP, the Party in control for two years, is blaming the dems.
45
"My Senators" - says it all.
55
@Marie
"My Wall" -- said it all.
1
No sympathy for trump and his band of not so merry men - perhaps they have difficulty understanding what Pelosi is saying - goes something like this - "let's open the government, and we'll talk about border security". "And NO you're not getting a wall". Full Stop
LOVED seeing those GOP-hench men spin it differently - what do we need to do? Open the government. When? Now. Do we need a wall ? NO. How about border security? Absolutely - but not a stupid wall. Get it? Simple. We Don't Want or Need a Wall - this guy needs to get over it.
19
This bag of wind blusters about his wall while families suffer. It speaks volumes about his character. The GOP meets in the hope of keeping members behind Trump and his idiotic wall. That speaks volumes about the GOP.
23
The unifying principle of the Trump presidency is to wield a wrecking ball on American excellence.
15
Why did he not ask for funding his idiotic wall when the republicans were in control of the House the last two years? it is obvious, he just wants to give the Democrats a hard time because they won the house in a landslide this past elections, but why continue with this tantrum inflicting pain on the innocent Federal workers? Shocking that he did not even acknowledge them in his speech! Democrats should not give in to this spoiled brat President's tantrums to satisfy his ego!
28
Can't believe this is the same guy who fixed Wollman Memorial ice-skating rink all those years ago. It's been downhill ever since. Poor wacko.
9
@inframan - Yep. He's on very thin ice now.
1
How about ALL the rich Republicans, Democrats, Trump and his family, including his business partners pay ALL THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES!!!
9
Update: Trump just had meltdown and stormed out of meeting with Democrats when Nancy & Chuck "just said no."
14
“This is not a fight I wanted,” Mr. Trump said. “I didn’t want this fight.”
Liar. Trump relished this fight for years.
But he couldn’t get it done in two years, despite Republican majorities in the House and Senate. Now he’s burning down his presidency over this dumb idea that the country does not want. Complete self destruction.
30
Yes, go ahead and call for a national emergency. It will get tied up in court for so long you’ll be dead before a decision is ever made.
19
Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC showed the true reason for Trump's speech. Fundraising for 2020. Trump sent out two emails to supporters asking for money before and after the speech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeoHa2k9SLM
The Democratic leaders' response was relatively weak, however Sanders gave a response which the Times did not report and it was great. See it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPsbkrE9rmo
19
Donny this is your inner Roy Cohen again. You're the President, it's an emergency if you say so. Those are little people standing in your way. Those law makers know nothing about construction. We'll show'em.
11
I’m happy someone mentioned Roy Cohen.
Most people do not know Roy Cohen’s part in Trump’s life. I’m afraid most younger people are not taught this sad era of American History. Senator Joe McCarthy in the late 1950’s, in his witchhunt for communists, ruined many innocent people’s lives and scared the sh___ out of the rest. A true witchhunt. Ultimately the power McCarthy had gathered was crushed. His right-hand man was the lawyer Roy Cohen.
Trump hired him in the 70’s. Ultimately Cohen took Trump under his wings—teaching him how to bully, lie and cheat.
There’s an important lineage many miss nowadays—it explains a lot of the dysfunctional and evil behaviour of Individual 1.
4
He can't. He is making this a big deal to avoid the information now released about his son-in-law's collusion with a now indicted Russian who they gave our election data to. This is a traitorous act and carried out purely for him to be elected, without any interest in the US, his country. He is despicable and also with the wall he has said not onw word about the turmoil and predicament this puts Federal workers in. Why? Because as he does not care about America, he does not care about Americans, those who he will never meet across a golf club at one of his clubs.
30
What has the GOP controlled Congress been doing for the last 2 years? Voting for a wall? NOPE.Voting to end Obamacare multiple times.
Where where all those votes for the wall before the Democrats started controlling the purse strings? Where was the national emergency then?
12
The National Emergency is the Trump/Pence disaster,
Get them out.
24
Trump should be impeached if he declares national emergency for bypassing the congress.
16
Trump apparently wants "Abuse of office." to be the #1 item on the Bill of Impeachment.
13
There is definitely an autocratic ambience in threats of declaring a national emergency. It has an atmosphere of a real estate tactic. It has to be done now or something bad will happen. Hurry hurry hurry; you might miss out.
The duplicitous fund raising component of the oval office teleprompter reading has not been focussed on much. We can see you are not on the special lists of donors that the president has. Quick the deadline has been extended until tonight. Don't miss this tremendous opportunity to get on the list that the Commander in Chief will see; a list of people funding the wall.
Of course it would never fund the wall. It's as dodgy as the inauguration funding issue where millions and millions of dollars are yet to be accounted for.
Trump sees the world in terms of who is a sucker or not.
Don't be the sucker.
10
"President Trump warned on Wednesday that he reserved the option of declaring a national emergency to build his border wall without congressional approval."
Republicans- YOU own this!
12
All this buzz.... mostly smoke & mirrors.... although with REAL impact on both Federal employees, Contract employees and many Americas who depend on Federal agencies being open and operational!
What we are witnessing the death throws of the Trump and GOP-- making their last stand on a "wall" that never will be built.
Add this to the GOP's continued denials about Trump & Team collusion with Russia and likely other foreign powers, and Trump's alliances with shady characters and dirty money (e.g., many in his inner circle and campaign team) -- and we have the makings of a perfect storm.
Buckle up America!
8
@John Engelhardt
Well said...............
1
This was so predictable, after Trump’s epic fail last night. Today, the “president” haplessly admitted there is no “national emergency” and that he is only using the threat of it as a political stick. Immigration needs intelligent solutions, but only his deluded followers actually believe there is a “national emergency” at the border that more wall will fix.
Not even Trump believes it. You’re being conned, Trump supporters. Admit your terrible mistake, chin up and move on. It’s not too late. All of our kids will thank you.
8
Behold the (self proclaimed) great negotiator and dealmaker, Don J Trump, Twittering and threatening. These are pretty much the extent of his abilities. He offers no real solutions or any clear direction. He’ll make bold proclamations today, and change his mind the very next day. An exclusively television-fed mind, and McDonald’s fed physique. What a national embarrassment.
Hey Trump Supporters: how are those tariffs treating you? How is that improved healthcare system (Trumpcare?) treating you? 401k in the toilet since he took office?
Past presidents have told him to build the wall? Yea right. Federal employees are forgoing paychecks and telling him to stand firm on the wall? Yea right.
What happened to Mexico paying? Listen to his explanation on that and don’t tell me he’s not a “professional politician”.
Maybe use a little more foresight before you vote for what amounts to a person who acts the equivalent of a ‘crazy uncle’ next time.
8
He is obviously, and seriously, delusional.
Why has no group of legal scholars, Congress people, or anyone else not loudly and publicly say he is NOT a dictator?
Where are his advisors and confidants?
We all need real - and fast - help.
7
Trump has taken 800,000 of our nation's federal workers hostage.
As Americans we don't negotiate with kidnappers.
Trump should instead keep this promise and get a signed agreement with Mexico that Mexico is clearly and willing to pay for that wall (or picket fence).
10
Let's not forget that three weeks ago Republicans ran all three branches of the government - four if you consider the recent supreme court appointments: and they could not pass legislation for the great wall.
It's only because we are allowing the conversation to change along with the musings of our marginally awake president that we can even consider the Democrats have had anything to do with preventing such a ridiculous expenditure.
11
Mr. Art of the Deal can't even hold a consistent negotiating position for 24 hours. How does one have a good faith negotiation when one side threatens to take unprecedented and likely unconstitutional unilateral action if they don't get 100% of their demands?
Let's think way back, three long weeks ago, to December 20. The Republican-controlled Senate passed a continuing resolution - without wall funding - to keep the government open until February 8. The day before that, Senate Republicans received assurances from Mike Pence that Trump would sign a clean continuing resolution - without wall funding - to keep the government open. Trump reneged, making his own VP and Republican Senate leaders look like fools.
Another mere 24 hours before *that* debacle Sarah Sanders publicly stated that the $5 billion for the wall could be gotten from "other sources" and the White House would accept $1.6 billion for the wall as part of a larger border security bill. So we went from $5 billion, to $1.6 billion, and somehow today we are at $5.7 billion.
All of this chaos began with Trump. The man is erratic - and his Republican enablers dutifully reverse course to suit his whims. The right thing to do for the country is to pass a continuing resolution to reopen the government by bipartisan veto-proof majorities. The individual standing in the way of that common sense solution is Mitch McConnell.
17
If Trump were to find the basis for legal emergency authority to build the wall, it would be a troubling precedent for future executive actions by this power drunk president and more importantly, a very real slide toward authoritarianism.
11
Oh yes, Trump did want this fight.
Of course he did, and he is obviously still enjoying it.
He, along with Stephen Miller and Mitch McConnell, have planned for this particular fight, and the timing of this fight, for a long time.
What is most revealing about all three, and all their enablers in Congress, is they are just fine with putting millions of Americans at risk with the shutdown, just to play out their sick pet project.
Their fake arrogant empathy of 'keeping Americans safe' rings completely hollow, because they are NOT keeping Americans safe right now - every Federal employee, family member, government contractor, daycare provider, landlord etc that affected by the shutdown is NOT being 'kept safe'.
They don't care about keeping Americans safe from the real problems in this country.
They don't care about Americans - that is very very clear.
They just want to win, at any cost to us lesser beings who unfortunately must share this country with them.
7
It would be quite interesting and perhaps quite revealing if we were to investigate whether some of those most vociferous wall
supporters have a direct or indirect financial interest in, or expect to receive quick-backs from the company or companies that could possibly be engaged in the construction of Trump's Folly.
6
@Gordian
I GUARANTEE YOU that will play out as 100% true
2
Any truth to the new rumor that the Edifice Mex will be made of coal?
11
That "speech" last night was a Hatch violation
It was a con that it had anything to do with the shutdown, another chance for trump to spew hate.
Today he walked out.
trump - just keep on walking.
Enough is enough.
7
No crisis on the Southern border.
Most drugs smuggled thru legal crossings or by mail from China.
Most illegals come through airports and overstay their visas.
Very very few terrorists came thru the Southern border in the last 10 years, and no incidents of terrorism in the US have resulted.
As always, Trump voters are not given the true details, but these details matter. The true details are not on any 1 network, not even Fox. It only takes an hour to read news on ~8 different networks and then combine this info into what is likely true. This isn't rocket science.
5
Fun to watch the Dems' strategy of feeding Trump's fond egotistical delusion about his perceived "absolute right" to declare a 'national emergency.'
It's reminiscent of an old Far Side cartoon, where the hidden dog is hoping to lure a curious cat into the clothes dryer. If Trump takes the 'cat fud' bait, he'll end up well-tossed for sure.
6
@the dogfather - Good one. I loved that cartoon.
Let the Baby-in-Chief declare a national emergency, and we'll see the courts swiftly annul the declaration as an unconstitutional power grab. Although he's a Republican appointee, Chief Justice Roberts, along with the four moderate/liberal Justices, has demonstrated that he will stand up for the country and the Constitution to fend off this power hungry demagogue. The Democrats need to hold their ground and let Trump continue his downward spiral of self-destruction. Don't relent!!!!
6
It is time to reopen the federal government.
4
I'd say that the Oval Office speech was to announce a national emergency, but Trump lost his nerve. The whole idea ain't dead by a long shot.
3
“This is not a fight I wanted.” What s complete and total lie. Not only did he want the fire, he started it, stokes it, and will not put it out ever... he won’t be happy even if he gets what he wants. This is his 2020 campaign going into full gear. He’s not ever going to stop whining like the petulant child he is.
10
He's like a kid threatening to embarrass mom and dad in the store unless he gets his own way.
I suspect that trump will pull the pin and call the emergency. From his crabbed point of view, he drove past the exit ramp a few miles back. He cannot execute a U-turn; his base will devour him.
He will be sued. If he is called out of bounds by the courts, he can then run back to his base and claim he did all he could do.
The irreparable damage done to trump and his enablers if he follows through on this desperate gambit, may well instigate sooner, rather than later, his impeachment, and possible removal from office.
The gop has shown itself to be incapable of governing. It may well go the way of the Whig party
5
I have just reserved my ambulance!
This takes the idea of what a “emergency” is to a new level.
4
Just how could construction of thousands of miles of wall be an EMERGENCY measure? It takes months or even years to build the wall. Can you think of other emergencies in your life that you would have months or years to resolve? By definition, that wouldn't be an emergency.
7
I predict that an attempt to declare martial law is not far behind this latest outrage.
Richard Nixon briefly flirted with the idea of declaring martial law, and he attempted to shut down the free press (remember the Pentagon Papers case?). But Nixon had something that Donald Trump no longer has: intelligent aides who understand restraint, the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution, who will tell him, "No."
So what are we going to do, folks, when he indisputably stops flirting with dictatorial powers, and actually starts using them? Any ideas, Congress?
10
“This is not a fight I wanted,” Mr. Trump said. “I didn’t want this fight.”
I'd like to be laughing more these days. Tragedy has become farce. Trump desperately needs a major distraction. Unfortunately for him, the wrong walls are closing in.
We now know Paul Manafort, his campaign manager, shared sensitive poling data with the Russians ahead of the Republican convention. That's extremely close to conspiracy to defraud the American electorate. And Trump almost certainly condoned this activity as Manafort and Gage can probably attest.
Trump's impending doom also increases the chances he'll declare a national emergency, by tweet of course, and exercise broad new powers over the government. There's not much doubt he'd burn the whole thing down while he hides in a bunker.
This absolutely can't be allowed to happen. If he can't be stopped, something definitive needs to be done. The best break-the-glass option would then be for the Special Prosecutor, in conjunction with adults on both sides of the aisle, to give Trump a quick way out. Namely, resignation in exchange for criminal immunity for himself and his family.
Trump can then retire to Russia or Saudi Arabia or really anywhere so long as he and his misbegotten brood leave the public stage.
6
I can't help but wonder if Trump's supposed fixation on the Wall is all smoke and mirrors. Trump's real goal is not to be a successful president, it's not even necessarily to push Stephen Miller's white nationalist agenda - but *merely* to destabilize American democracy at the behest of his patron, Vladimir Putin. He has been borrowing money from the Russian mafia for years, and he doesn't want to be thrown out of a window or drink radioactive tea.
As the well-intentioned media runs endless articles about Trump's nonsensical talking points, they are just playing "Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain." As many people have pointed out, if Trump actually wanted a wall, he could have had one. He has no actual policy goals beyond chaos. A protracted government shutdown is not a problem for him.
6
Mitch McConnell just gave the American people the green light to march on Washington to reopen the government now.
McConnell has made it clear he is standing firm with Trump. An increasing majority of both Dems and Repubs want the government reopened now.
I am calling for those with the means of organization and funding to begin plans for a march on Washington to oppose McConnell and Trump's position. Families are hurting, an answer has already been reached by bipartisanship in the House. Now you are directly opposing the will of the majority of the American people must show the workers and nation we are not with you Mr. Trump- O'connell.
4
There's a reason GOP leadership doesn't find the phrase "I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want" terrifying and it's probably contained in the phrase "my senators".
Either Leader McConnell doesn't know that even without an emergency nothing legally prevents Mr. Trump from launching a first strike, or he doesn't care. He can't possibly be certain that Mr. Trump wouldn't.
If a president doesn't get an appropriation he or she wants, U.S. senate leadership has traditionally not agreed he or she can just take the money from any other government appropriation. That decision isn't even up the Senate, because all appropriations have to go through the House.
Even declaring an emergency to reopen the government is taking over Congressional powers and rendering them superfluous. If Mr. Trump orders the closed I.R.S. to make income tax refunds instead of signing legislation to reopen that part of the government, and gets away with it, it's closer to dictatorship than Mr. McConnell should feel comfortable with.
4
Maybe Trump declaring a "national emergency" is the best thing. Congress could then pass a budget and Trump could sign and I am sure that the "emergency" declaration would face a lawsuit, which given Trump's track record would likely lose.
1
We all should take heed the prescient warning spoken by our first president;
"I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally."
"This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy."
"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty."
7
Russia is getting fantastic return on their investment in the Trump candidacy. He has managed to alienate friends, coddle enemies, sow chaos and has actually closed the entire US government. Trump could be Russia’s most productive asset in history.
8
Give me what I want or I walk is NOT negotiation.
It is taking hostages of Federal employees by a man that could never conceive of ever living paycheck to paycheck and has no empathy for those that do.
3
It comes our of the military budget if it is a national emergency right? And the army builds the wall? One less nuke ok with me but likely to provoke a reaction from someone that had tabs on that.
American society is collapsing because too many Americans have succumbed to the false notion that evil activity is wholly "out there" in some external country or person or political party, whereas in reality, most of problems in the world are caused because we don't look enough internally into ourselves to see what we are doing that is hurtful to ourselves or others. Trump has a talent for sensing this weakness in Americans and amplifying it, blaming people, nations and genders for complex structural problems who evilness is basically rooted in greed and desire for domination ( to protect oneself from the assumed domination and exploitation of "other people." )
Until we all start resisting the urge to demonize other people, we're not going to make much progress. But what we can do is not let Trump stoke our own inner fires of hatred -- against him or anyone else. He's merely an ineffective inflammatory leader who simply cannot handle the demands of the presidency.
1
At least he stated the naked truth --if he declares a national emergency, it will be because he wants it like the extra scoop of ice cream that he and no one else gets, not because the country needs it . Truly terrifying.
4
Dear Congress,
Please represent me in a vote against the Wall proposed by President Trump. I don't believe it is necessary nor do I believe it will be effective.
3
Trump seems to be boxing himself into a corner. He may feel like the only way out is to declare a national emergency, since anything else will be viewed by his base as caving in.
The real nation’s crisis is unpaid TSA workers, who are resorting to calling in sick - a direct ramifications of Trump’s ill-thought actions.
1
so, what i don't understand is why he didn't pass his wall when Republicans controlled the House, if he wants it this badly!
Will somebody explain to me why he didn't have his Republican house pass it.
thanks
2
The mental and constitutional health of the country mandate that this very stupid vulgarian go. And soon.
We have a president holding our government employees hostage to his whims. We must not negotiate with hostage takers. WE must remember he works for us, we don't work for him. It is time to tell him YOU'RE FIRED.
66
Gun control, pal. That’s your national emergency. More people are dying at the hands of deranged and dangerously armed Americans than are at the hands of asylum seekers.
68
@Paul Downie For him this is inconsequential. Nothing matters but how he got elected and how he can cling to office. Nothing else -- one could argue he does not have the mental capacity to take more than these issues aboard, those that do not directly impact on his standing as President, and I think this is quite apparent, but he tows the Republican line and becomes combative when he feels threatened, his only goal to be elected again, no matter the price to the country.
4
@Paul Downie
I could not agree more with you. The snag: asylum seekers do not buy legislators, the NRA does!
7
Trump is like the boy who cries wolf.
Sorry the only national emergency is Trump himself.
He is unfit to hold any public office.
He stains the office he holds and I predict history will judge him even more severely.
How did anybody vote for this disreputable man?
Are power and tax cuts and conservative judges so important to the Republican Party that they would jeopardize our country’s future by supporting this
madness? It is sad to contemplate the answer!
56
Listen closely...he never said he wants to build a wall..
he said he wants to build a mall...
14
@Ron S.
At the beginning of his speech last night he denied saying what he was going to say. Listen real closely.
1
Speaking of "illegal", Trump,
Your son should be the first one subpoenaed when it comes to your family.
Son-in-law, second.
Mitch McConnell, third.
46
@Jbugko Yes, and speaking of "illegal", let's not forget Melania working and being compensated while on a tourist visa.
6
Next thing you know he'll want it gold plated and enshrined with his name.
We have a national emergency alright, a non functioning gov't being co-opted by propagandist thieves.
Americans should strike in response, how about failure to pay taxes if we are not receiving representation.
27
And voters have the absolute right to send Trump an eviction notice on November 10, 2020. Dump Trump in 2020 and R
restore integrity back into the White House and turn it blue.
12
You “may” go that route of “having an emergency?” We either have an emergency or we don’t. If you can’t show us what the emergency is, you don’t have one.
33
Despots claim to have “absolute rights.” A POTUS has duties and responsibilities as provided in the US Constitution.
The USA has a president, not a king.
42
@Mark Nicholson
Not if there is a declared state of emergency.
Oh, stop yammering and go ahead and do it. It might make Mitch McConnell and Republicans in Congress grow a spine. And if they don't, well, there's 2020.
19
Go ahead, Donald.
The John Roberts' court will give you a rebuke. And you are no Harry Truman.
12
Please New York Times. We need a break from the wall-to-wall coverage of the wall. Even the wall itself has breaks in it. Why can't we have one (for just a day)? Thanks.
7
@Jay Orchard
Here's an idea. Ask your president to stop his one-point agenda and actually talk about something else...like how to end this unnecessary and ridiculous government shutdown!
First it was "my generals" now it's "my senators".
Good lord deliver us.
43
@PM
---yes, and while he says he wants/expects loyalty from "his generals" and "his senators" and "his attorney general", he actually demands total obedience.
He is unfit to hold office, but he occupies it. He illegitimately seized the office. He is illiterate about matters of history and governance. He is a failure at negotiation. These elements, with his frozen development & personality, make him a threat to our constitution.
3
@PM
Do "his generals" refer to him as Commander-in-Chief Bone Spur?
3
Can we the people declare a national emergency and build a wall around the White House? That might deter a really dangerous criminal from further endangering the US populace. I am sure Mexico would pay for that wall.
45
Like being pregnant, national emergencies aren't "maybe's" or "almost's" they either are or they are not-- right now.
To hem and haw as trump is doing shows the hollowness of any declaration he may invoke.
He needs someone to whisper a new trick to him...
11
How obtuse can Trump be, declaring there is a crisis out there...when the only crisis is in there, in his quasi- empty but malevolent head? No courageous inner circle of his to let him now how stupi his behavior is? Hard to believe this fraudster was allowed to shut the government down, all to satisfy his "wall', pure demagoguery from the get-go.
10
I suppose it's too late to hope that this clown will one day learn to speak English well. "I have the absolute right to do national emergency."
16
I am reminded of the Castro-like dictator in Woody Allen's Bananas when he proclaims that all people under the age of 16 years old are now 16 years old.
10
And Swedish was the new national language and everyone had to wear underwear on the outside, I remember correctly.
1
Please. He won't. He does not have the guts to. If he had any, he would have declared it last night, during his address. Instead, in front of the entire world, he showed what a cowardly weasel he actually is. The Democrats have the upper hand here. You can take that to the bank.
10
This President is the national emergency. 25 for 45.
21
Let's get real. President Trump's behavior is one of desperation. All Americans must ask themselves WHY? Currently, there isn't a serious immigration threat on our Southern Border. Do the research. Our Ports of Entry are dealing with significantly more challenging and serious threats re: immigration. WHY is Trump so desperately insisting on building a wall? Although the POTUS daily demonstrates his deplorable overblown ego, his desperation is being fueled by more than his ego. Who is he indebted to regarding this situation? The Mercers? The Koch Brothers? Putin? Journalists need to dig deeper. There is far more going motivating Trump than his ego. At this point in time, Americans of all political parties are increasingly doubting his credibility on this issue. What is really going on?
18
@Leslie374 The indictments are coming. That's what's going on.
6
@Leslie374
I’m guessing that there’s profits in it for him and contracts were already signed. Now he’s committed to god knows whom and can’t get out of it.
1
A response to an emergency is a long-term construction project. Got it.
41
yep.. an emergency and a solution that will take years to complete..... what happens in the days..months ....NOW... ?
God help us if we have a real emergency.....and I'm an atheist.
..
Warnings, threats, scare tactics....We know now that he has one trick up his sleeve, which is fear.
22
Well, the president is right about one thing: both the Senate Republicans and Mitch McConnell are literally incredible. Like our "president", they have zero credibility.
22
Be very wary. Something with a foul odor hints that the national emergency talk is a trial balloon. This guy doesn't care one bit about people, secure communities, crime control or eve Democrats for that matter. But, he is terrified of Mueller, the "Russia thing," members of his family being indicted and the looming likelihood that impeachment is no longer just a talking point.
Imagine another so-called national emergency whereby the armed forces are employed to "protect" the country from a concocted terrorist attack, where civil rights and constitutional rights like habeas corpus are suspended. Does anyone really believe that those patriots at Fox News wouldn't hail this as necessary and proper?
12
Funny how the impasse is blamed on the Democrats and yet his Republican Party did not agree to funding the wall either.
Stop pointing fingers and develop an intelligent argument providing a solid business case supporting wall funding.
11
When will Trump say the 1900 miles is equivalent to driving from Quebec, Canada to Key West? That all wall is preposterous.
When will the Democrats offer a detailed budget outlining ballpark estimates for drug scanners, improved roads for border agents, drones, cameras, and additional physical barriers?
Both sides sicken me.
3
@tom "Both sides" agreed to $1.6 Billion in border security funding (for the very types of measure you outline), and Trump turned it down. Last year, "both sides" approved $1.3 Billion. Right now, the only thing standing between implementing those measures or not are Trump and the Republicans.
5
Instructions: How to get a wall built - Trump's 10 Step Program
Step 1: Find a campaign rallying cry that generates the most fear. Make some promises that others will pay for a wall.
Step 2: Use false and misleading statistics to back up your position.
Step 3: Declare you are the only one who understands the problem and can fix it.
Step 4: Create inhumane policies that go against the values the country was founded on, and implement them in a way that causes logistics at the border to come to a grinding halt.
Step 5: Don't consult with any other experts... you know a lot more than they do. In fact, you know a lot more than everybody.
Step 6: When people call out that your statistics are misleading, create a diversion. Try undermining support for our historical allies.
Step 7: Generate distrust in the legitimate news media by calling them "enemies of the people" when they air the disagreements that others have with your policies.
Step 8: Blame anything that goes wrong on everyone else. The buck always stops elsewhere.
Step 9: After you have created a crisis yourself, take advantage of that by indentifying there is a crisis and make sure everyone knows that your way is the only way the crisis can be resolved.
Step 10: If all else fails, shut down the government, declare a national emergency and undermine our system of government. Don't worry, your supporters won't realize that only 6 "terrorists" have crossed the southern border. They'll never think you are abusing your power.
17
Annnnd, like all his Steve Miller half-baked ideas, this one will also end up in the courts, where it's likely to die. Did Miller even have a real job before he hitched himself to the Trump campaign? I can't imagine him as employable.
Justice Roberts is smarter than the entire Republican party put together -- he understands that the Supreme Court, the presidency and the entire country are in a fight to retain legitimacy.
37
@Andy
I believe Miller, just prior to joining the Trump administration, worked as Senator Jeff Sessions’ communications director. Take that for whatever you think it’s worth.
As for Justice Roberts - well, sadly, he is only one man.
1
What’s the recourse when a president calls a fake emergency? Seems like a perfect case for impeachment.
12
This is how police states begin. We've seen Trump unilaterally order separating immigrant families presenting themselves lawfully at entry ports. He has said that American citizens lawfully exercising their right to protest should be stripped of their citizenship. And he believes he may unilaterally ignore the clear definition of birthright citizenship. Now he is threatening to declare a national emergency, to build a wall that isn't needed at all. But there is one common denominator with Trump's targets. They are all brown-skinned people. These people (citizen and non-citizen alike) are his targets and they are his base's targets. Hate crimes against ethnic minorities have skyrocketed since he took office - and this is no coincidence.
Trump stripped some of the nation's most respected military and diplomatic personnel of their security clearances. He has already ordered Hispanic infants be put into cages - on our soil. Does anyone honestly believe that he wouldn't order the "round up" of any group he or his racist base didn't like? There are no guarantees this Supreme Court would stand up to Trump. As it did with the Muslim ban, this court may well give Trump similarly expansive powers in declaring national emergencies. But even if Trump doesn't win the legal battle, he knows that making these threats is enough to silence many of us, to make many of us fearful enough to speak out. This is how he will retain absolute power. We are running out of time to act against him.
22
Republicans had two years to do something about what they consider to be a pressing issue and instead spent all that time crafting taxpayer-funded welfare checks for their billionare donors.
Some "emergency." More like red meat to keep the base well fed and at the ready as Mueller walks up the driveway with an arrest warrant in hand.
13
I think Trump’s latest strategy is to declare a national emergency which ends up in the courts never to be approved. In the meantime the shutdown can end since it’s now separate from the wall, and he saves face with Fox and his cult base. Thoughts anyone?
5
@Patricia Gallery - I think you're on to something.
Mueller is getting closer and Trump is running out of distractions.
8
This harks back to King Charles declaration of national emergency to justify taxation without consent of Parliamen in the years leading up to the English civil war. The emegency was overblown but the damage to his authority was real.
8
And it did not end well for King Charles I.
2
@Jay Gregg
But a present-day sequel would set a bad precedent, even for a bad president.
I'm impressed by Trump's threats... and his commitment to serving his country. Kidding, I'm just kidding.
4
Nothing like the 13 year old bully taunting and threatening;gets the opportunity and backs out.
Trump had the world's attention last night...The preamble Tweets: "I can if I want to...." " I have the absolute right to..." Then silence.
Today: "I still might..." And...go after California by threatening to cut all FEMA payments...because Nancy looked more Presidential last night.
The same man who could never fire someone directly; using bullying and malice (or Kelly) instead.
Quite simply. No one is listening. The microphone is dead.
12
"I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want."
That's the money quote. That sums up the entire situation. Not "if the country's in danger" or "if people are suffering." Only "if I want."
And McConnell and others will kowtow to Trump to satisfy his ego, not for the good of the country or to protect or benefit the people they represent, but to give a fading, corrupt blowhard an ego boost.
Reprehensible.
15
All Republicans are gremlins to a working Democracy.
When has there ever been a Republican law that I could look up to? I will argue seldom...if ever.
4
Trump's concept of a National Emergency is whenever he doesn't get his way.
14
The democrats are right to question this money. Given most of the border has fencing at useful places one have to ask if the funds are outright corruption. I heard a lot of Trumps argument but it was too general i.e. it did not explain how his fencing would improve the situation. In any event any such spending has to be watched to make sure its legitimate. A commission needs to be appointed to come up with a plan. The president in any event is not competent to do so.
2
No. If people walk across our border where there is no fence then the fencing that is present in other areas is not sufficient. Where is your logic?
So President Trump will resort to this approach, he may: "do National Emergency" to try to build the wall. But the "national emergency" is frankly a bit of the past now, and an overpriced physical wall is hardly necessary at this juncture.
Further, he faces a somewhat losing proposition of trying to convince a Court that there is indeed a national emergency without the wall.
Finally, there is the added skepticism that the Trump administration could try to use a national emergency justification for virtually anything else.
2
At this point it might behoove Mitch McConnell and all the other lock-step members of this Republican Senate to realize that by standing by and doing nothing to stop this president from running our country into the ground with his "absolute right to declare a National Emergency", they're doing nothing to guarantee border security and everything to harm all those government workers, like those of the TSA who are now being forced to work without wages.
Not only that but in the long run this tantrum of a shutdown is going to cost far more than dollars and cents to get the government up and running again -- it's going to cost votes.
The American workers now being short-changed will remember this at the polls come next Election Day.
9
I had worried that my family and I could end up in a labor camp if Trump won the election. I've let those concerns go, but now they seem less and less divorced from reality.
13
Just a quick question: are you one of the reported 10% of NYC residents who are illegal immigrants? If so, you might be justified in having those fears.
If Mexico is supposedly supposed to pay for the wall, which Trump has claimed time and time again, then why do we need the government to shutdown or their to be a national emergency? This narrative does not make sense, and that is because it had nothing to do with spending bills, immigration, or border security; and everything to do with Trump trying to pleasing his base.
9
mr. trump said: “I think we might work a deal, and if we don’t, I may go that route. I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want.”
So, it's not about the US being in a national emergency.
It's about whether trump gets his way. In trump's mind, if he doesn't "win" then it's an emergency of losing face.
8
@LivingWithInterest
This should get a recommend from every reader.
It is the fundamental truth of the situtation.
The only "national emergency" is the one Trump's created by depriving so many people of their paychecks and throwing vital gov't functions into chaos. Not to mention affecting so many private businesses that rely on things like national parks and the tourists that spend money in nearby towns.
There should be a law requiring that Congress and any Adminstration official not be paid during shut-downs, either. And no retroactive reimbursement for them. That in itself would probably take care of the problem.
10
@Mary Ann
I agree. All the same, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez had to wait until her first Congressional paychecks arrived before she could afford a DC rental. Wouldn't a law like this be disproportionately and unfairly coercive vis-à-vis the very representatives and senators that we want, e.g., the un-monied, principled and idealistic Ocasio-Cortez? The uber rich Congress-people wouldn't be impacted by such a law at all.
3
@Robert Perhaps. But they all need incentives to compromise and be problem-solving pragmatists. We have a lot of lefty idealogues here in western WA who are just as problematic as the Republicans, and it's hard to be sympathetic to any of them, for any reason. Yeah, the uber-rich congressfolk wouldn't be impacted, but at least taxpayers could withhold on principle. As to those in Ocasio-Cortez's situation, I ask - who was that congressperson who slept in his office??
Dear readers: At the moment I find myself on a visit to the island of St. Helena in the south mid-Atlantic ocean (they've just opened an airport here for the first time, thus now easy to get here). I have a proposal: Could we arrange an intervention and an agreement with the U.K. (St. Helena is a British Overseas Territory) to have President Trump take up residence here as a modern day Napoleon-like exile? The status appeal may be quite enticing for Trump, and if the price is right maybe the St. Helenians would put up with him. One caveat: Napoleon lived in Longwood House, much too nice for Trump, so alternative accommodation would need to be found. Also, Napoleon was allowed a horse to ride about the interior of the island. I would allot Trump a fancy golf cart. PS: They do have a modest 9-hole golf course here and I'm sure he could be admitted as a distinguished member.
4
@C.L.S.
We've been thinking about an island in Lake Ontario for former Gov. Walker, but St. Helena is a brilliant idea. It must be a great deal more pleasant with modern cons. than it was for the former emperor.
1
@C.L.S.,
no thanks. we will wait for the upcoming jail cell.
1
@JA
St. Helena has the advantage if we want to make sure Mr. Trump has no chance to bribe, conspire with or influence in any way gullible U.S. citizens, ever again. While I hate the idea of doing this to the Brits, he does represent a potential planetary threat, and it would give them a lot of enjoyment every time he asks someone what that Napoleon guy did to wind up there.
I agree with the people who are suggesting a call-out.
All of the government employees who are working without pay, call out sick.
Tomorrow. For 24 hours.
TSA stops. Airports shut down. Flights are cancelled. And that's "just" one agency. One part of one agency.
The biggest economic hit this country has ever seen.
One day, that's all it will take.
8
So why hasn’t the wall been built yet if the Republicans have been in power for 10 years in both houses and 2 years in all elected areas. Hmm. Kind of weak that is all of a sudden a national emergency when Democrats are in control of the House.
7
There are NO "absolute rights in the United States! This is a basic concept of our checks and balances democracy. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."
We cannot let this stand! The national emergency we have is Mr. Trump.
7
I can imagine even a 'slowly bubbling' crisis; but I don't see how a national emergency could be 'constructed' from a pot that never more than simmered, and is not so much lukewarm as room temperature now.
4
Big Foot and UFOs are a bigger “emergency” than this.
1
@R
Dustin Hoffman expressed Ratso Rizzo's worry thus: "I'm scared … I gotta lie down."
At a baby shower in 'downtown' Manhattan, NYC (not that ya woulda thought of Kansas), and 'for' his daughter -- some 15 or 20 or 25 years ago, Dustin gave me partial credit for my imitation of him as Ratso, using that line from "Midnight Cowboy"(as my wife, his daughter's friend and my entrée to the proceedings, looked to kill me … until she saw me and Dustin laughing); but I wildly digress from the point I wish to make ... which is this:
I'd worry of bigfoot if he (?) were not a mountain-based, 'northwestern' U.S. 'feature' -- and/or, if UFO's were anywhere other than a 'flyover country' concern arisen solely upon 'sightings' there that I cannot but presume to be 'arisen' upon the circumstance of there being too little else within 'a thousand'-or-more miles that might stir imaginations even there aborning.
1
I say, go ahead, declare your emergency and build your wall. That way it would be fully clear that it's all about *you* and all on *you*. But no matter how big and long the wall is, the hands are still small.
3
Given the president’s limited vocabulary, I’m surprised that he is possession of the word “absolute;” however, it is a word fraught without many variables as to its intent—complete, total and unquestioned.
Those synonyms do not describe a “leader” of a republican democracy where that “leader” is constrained by something as irritating as “checks and balances.” Many legal experts and presidential scholars have recently weighed in upon this subject. The unanimous verdict is that a president may not employ the military to construct edifices in the United States, particularly when such structures would not be used in the service of “a national emergency.” Mexico, along the American border, is not a military threat to America and the placement of troops along the border to repel refugees flies in the face of both our national character and the restraints upon an executive’s excesses, particularly those arising from whim or caprice.
By pressuring the Senate’s Republicans to commit their reputations and prestige to a clearly unconstitutional attempt at wresting an authority that he clearly does not have—except in his own mind—this president is hazarding not only his future but those of his supporters in the upper chamber.
Donald Trump obviously seeks to wield a power not his own and even his most unthinking, rote zealots will have to make career decisions: “do I support the rule of law or do I support an autocracy that will be open to abuses that cannot be foreseen?”
3
Sadly, this is probably his best bet. The courts will step in and the "deal" will be tied up for who knows how long...but he'll be able to tell his base he went to the mattresses for them.
Because, after all, pleasing the base comes before anything else.
3
@jhoughton1
Probably keeping himself in office, or out of prison, comes first.
Let's pretend it IS an emergency. So we build a wall? If someone pulls a gun, do we ask for bids to build a house to hide in? I know the emergency is a lie, but it's worse because the lie doesn't lead to the solution he wants. It's an emergency so let's build a wall? It...just...makes...no...sense. Someone should point that out.
4
Never thought I'd agree with a Trump statement, but for "Mitch McConnell has been incredible." I make an exception. I wouldn't believe Sen. McConnell if he told me the sky was blue. As for Mr. Trump . . .need you ask?
2
The humanitarian crisis is the 800,000 US citizens Trump is putting at risk by shutting down the government. NOW, President Trump, is the time to put the USA worker first.
4
trump getting on TV is useless other than to distract us from the results of the investigation by Mueller and others. Everyone knows that every word from trump, to the extent it is coherent, is likely a lie.
There is clearly a national emergency and that is we have a president who wants to be king. If those congresspeople who pledged to support the constitution would do their job, he'd be gone. I suspect he'll do a lot more damage before that is a reality.
Let's see those tax returns. Let's get charges brought now.
5
Trump's behavior is exposing the dangers of excessive presidential powers. In the past, rational thought and the fear of consequences kept most presidents in check. Now is the time to impose clear, well worded limits to what a president can do and when. Let's start with the ridiculously broad powers to pardon (Nixon got off thanks to Ford) and to declare states of emergency, and engage in de facto wars. Let's not stop there.
5
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” - George Orwell
I didn't realize how Orwellian this administration could get until it because clear that Trump is fixated on pushing the limits of his power. Fortunately Mr Silver Spoon, who has never mixed it up with us rabble, has got a surprise in store for him in terms of how much we citizens love our liberty and democracy in this country. Just try it fella, just try.
5
Let him try. It will take several months, maybe 6-12, for the courts to go through it, as a national emergency declaration will be challenged. Then, if Trump prevails, the army has to divert billions of dollars of funds and organize men and materiel. You can bet they won’t rush any planning, and my guess is, that even if Trump gives them the go-ahead, little or nothing will happen before the next election. And likely it would die after the election.
2
President Trump wants the right to do whatever he wants. Bypassing democratic institutions, and using the military to solve a political problem? Didn't we fight a revolution several centuries ago to stop this kind of abuse of power?
In another time and place, a different leader supposedly said "L'Etat, c'est moi." And we all know how that turned out.
5
Just think of all the American citizens who would be helped with an 5 Billion dollar infusion in to the economy!
Veterans, senior citizens, students, caregivers, small business, schools, infrastructure roads and rails etc. etc.
6
National Emergency: 1) Climate change; 2) Opioid crisis; 3) Gun control; 4) Healthcare; 5) Trump
171
@gailweis,
here is mine:
1) tRump
2) healthcare
3) climate change
4) gun control
10 billionth) border crisis
6
@gailweis
Opioid AND Adderall crisis.
3
@gailweis
National Emergency: 1) Trump 2) Trump 3) Trump 4) Trump 5) Trump . The rest cannot be addressed until Trump is removed from office.
3
The real national emergency we have right now is that a criminal occupies the White House, has caused the collapse of American prestige, and is gutting our major institutions.
316
@Frederick II:
"The real national emergency we have right now is that a criminal occupies the White House, has caused the collapse of American prestige, and is gutting our major institutions. "
Not familiar with Reagan are you.
What crime are you accusing Trump of?
Tottering on edge of collapsing our govt and security entirely- it was already in shambles thanks to Trump before this shutdown began.
8
@Frederick II I couldn't agree with you more. This insane notion Trump has about border security calling it a "national emergency" seems to be a way to distract the country from what's really going on and that is, he knows he's in trouble with the Mueller investigation and likely knows family members are also in trouble. This drama is all a giant creation brought to us by Trump Productions.
9
" I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want.”
Could he be less articulate?
I'd like to see every federal worker impacted refuse to show up for work: at airports, at prisons, etc. Let the people he's using bring him to his knees.
226
@Anne
Yeah, that would be great. Except for the Taft-Hartley Act.
4
@Anne It would bring the entire country to its knees if all our airports closed. I believe that would be defined as cutting off our nose to spite our face. The only thing that will stop him would be for the rest of our elected officials...especially the boot lickers in the GOP...to say ENOUGH and stand up to him.
9
@Anne
"Could he be less articulate?" Sure, just give him a day! Or, until he opens his mouth again.
24
And what of the Democrats and Republicans that don't want a wall. That don't want to become a country where we are know for having a useless and ineffective wall. That don't want to be THAT country.
32
What is the word that combines delusional narcissism
amplified by the power of the Presidency?
Trumpism.
96
I was going to go with “perilous” but ok.
3
@Joe I like "unconstitutional"... but "Trump" is a good synonym.
2
He sounds more and more like Eric Cartman all the time. Those who aren't fans of South Park may not appreciate the simile. Cartman is essentially the central character in South Park; he's a fat, lying, vain, crude, self-obsessed, willfully ignorant, delusional, exploitative exhibitionist. Stone & Parker, the creators of South Park, had Trump nailed long before any of us could have imagined looking up and seeing Eric Cartman sitting in the Oval Office. Yet here we are.
155
@Michael Hogan Ha! Spot on (and scary)!
"What-evah, what-evah, I do what I want!"
7
Stone and Parker messed up by having Mr Garrison don a wig and orange-face for the recent seasons... so should've been Cartman
5
@Michael Hogan GREAT
4
December 11, 2018 - “I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck. … I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it.” DJT
This should be the talking point of Democrats...this and Mexico would pay for a wall.
147
@Lebowski2020 And I'll add one more. With a Republican controlled congress, he couldn't get his wall. Clearly, the Republicans don't want it. It's too late for Trump to dig in now....
6
declare it. it will be your undoing.
88
"President Trump warned on Wednesday that he reserved the option of declaring a national emergency to build his border wall without congressional approval."
Trump is trapped. All he has is empty threats. If he declares a national emergency to build his wall he will look even more foolish than he does now. Threats are his only play, but this threat will only make him look weaker. Trump and accountability are about to develop a relationship for the first time in his life.
82
@Rob Regardless of what side of the political spectrum you sit on, Trump missed his chance to declare a National Emergency at the appropriate moment to project real Presidential courage and strength:
- his Oval Office address to the nation
- with the eyes of the nation on him, with people from all political walks of life
- sat in a silent room with nothing but a camera to talk to.
I begin to believe that Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh used the proper terms for how this appears, now that he's back to bandying "Emergency" about: "gutless" and "cowardly". Someone who supports Trump owes it to themselves to ask what kind of President of the United States sits in front of them, if he is unable to make tough decisions when he faces the _non-partisan_ audience of the American people.
I'm honestly not sure he knows how to _do_ that. Trump has people that speak strongly for him, but he himself does not speak with resolve when he is not surrounded by people who already agree with him.
@Rob
He still has the state of emergency powers. He hasn't tried those yet.
I say let Trump declare a national emergency and when Trump is impeached or loses the floodgates are open. The new president can Declare a National Emergency on Guns and Climate. Payback is a you know what!
73
@Steven McCain Heck, yeah. More people are killed by rampant gun ownership than...well, and maybe cars, too?
3
@Steven McCain
Pence will merely talk to Mother and God for advice.
3
Trump: In your dreams!
Put up or shut up. You have no power for this. Better to agree to open the gov and then get the discussion on the details of border security - which ALL Americans want.
20
Go ahead. Make our day.
41
"....whoever “willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force” to execute a law domestically “shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years” — except when “expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress.”
Fire away Trump. A very good reason for impeachment.
39
Every night when he finally goes to bed he chants to himself: Must Keep Myself in the Headlines At All Times. No matter the cost to the United States.
31
This is on you Mitch.
146
Meanwhile in Chicago and other American cities, native born Americans are killing each other in record numbers. But build that wall!
26
Remind me, it it better or worse than when Obama was in office?
1
@Margo -- no, Obama never did anything about gun violence. Even with Mitch McConnell and all the Republicans in Congress eager to back him on new gun control laws. Because 'everybody knows' Obama was in the pockets of the NRA, unlike all the Republicans.
But here in the real world, Congress and presidents have done nothing about gun violence for a long time. Anytime Republicans are willing to help with that, I am absolutely certain that Democrats will be there to do it. How about it - you ready to call or write your Republican Rep. or Senator and tell them to help Trump make better gun control a reality? I thought so.
3
The per capita gun murder rate in Chicago is far below that of places like St Louis, Indianapolis, Gary, Baltimore, Detroit. We are not New York, but we’re a big city, with a big population. Minutes away from gun-loving Indiana- which lacks population.
1
Why didn't DT have the guts to declare a National Emergency during his nothing-burger address from the oval office? So do it, face any legal challenges, and in the meantime open the rest of the government. But quit threatening. Your bluster has lost any tiny bit of credibility it had (if it ever did). DT and the Republican party are just one long farce, albeit one in exceedingly poor taste.
24
Yeah, Mitch McConnell has been incredible all right.
37
Who knew that Ann Coulter had this much power?!
83
@JD Ripper
Sad, she has this power.
Albeit, not a great surprise given the rightists Trump uses as sources.
4
So watch the new CON. He's saying that he wants "Border Security" and Dem's. don't. NO! He wants a WALL, a WALL, a WALL; not border security. BUT he has to sell this new "brand" to his base. US does not want to pay for a WALL. I wish that media would loope the time when the Mexican Pres. stood on the stage with him and told him to his face Mexico wouldn't be paying for a wall; and they still aren't with the "new" NAFTA; we are! Make sure you keep calling his plan THE WALL!!!
17
The National Emergency IS Trump. Every day, in every Way, he is determined to out STUPID the previous day. You sure can pick'em, GOP.
2020.
103
There is an issue at this time that could be called a national crisis and that is climate change before any more irretrievable damage is done. It would be worth transferring funds from the bloated military budget for this issue.
53
It's past time for Congress to impose restrictions on the powers of the President, made even more urgent given the mangling of our constitution under Trump.
And just who are these "many democrats" in the House and Senate, or anywhere else for that matter, who support funding this boondoggle? Are they similar to the federal employees who support shutting down the government over this political stunt? Maybe they will be able to "adjust" their budgets by forgoing mortgage payments and groceries. Trump can relate.
12
@Yakker
Those “many democrats” who support the wall are standing over with the past presidents who have “told” him the wall should have been built years ago.
This man makes me want to scream!
If there really is an ongoing emergency that requires a wall and "tremendous" support from Republican senators for the wall, then why didn't Trump get his wall passed during the two years he had a Republican controlled congress?
56
The bottom line here is that the president failed to secure support for his wall when his party controlled the house for 2 years, and now he is failing to negotiate with the Democrats. He has failed to persuade his own party. He has failed to persuade the American public. In his repeated failures he may now resort the “national emergency” gambit. Given the fact that border arrests are well below the levels of the early 2000s, in all likelihood that gambit will also fail a court challenge.
Tired of winning yet?
124
@Norman:
"The bottom line here is that the president failed to secure support for his wall when his party controlled the house for 2 years, "
Well, that, and remember Trump saying "Mexico will pay for it"?
7
Millions of Americans lack affordable health care and the situation is worsening; climate change is wreaking havoc on our safety and security; guns and mass shootings are on the rise and now killing 40,000 Americans a year; there is an ongoing opioid epidemic.
These are national emergencies. Not immigration, which is a politically manufactured “crisis” that has actually been getting better for years.
49
@Dr E:
"Millions of Americans lack affordable health care and the situation is worsening; "
And this has been true for decades. Obama didn't really fix much.
"These are national emergencies. Not immigration, which is a politically manufactured “crisis” that has actually been getting better for years."
Right. Trump is playing to his xenophobic base.
Getting better control on illegal immigration will help make those other areas easier to deal with.
1
@Yaj -- Seventeen million people will beg to differ with you about that. Seventeen million (17,000,000 - I used numbers so you can understand it easier...) more Americans have healthcare insurance now than before the ACA. Its not everyone (yet) but it *is* better than it was... what has Trump done that that can be said about?
2
Tyrant -
1. a sovereign or other ruler who uses power oppressively or unjustly.
2. any person in a position of authority who exercises power oppressively or despotically.
3. a tyrannical or compulsory influence.
4. an absolute ruler, especially one in ancient Greece or Sicily.
Despot-
—noun
1. a king or other ruler with absolute, unlimited power; autocrat.
2. any tyrant or oppressor.
3. History/Historical. an honorary title applied to a Byzantine emperor, afterward to members of his family, and later to Byzantine vassal rulers and governors.
27
The accelerating level of hysteria in this "build the wall" soap opera can only mean that the end-game check-mate and humiliation is coming into focus. Pelosi drew him in by equating the wall with his manhood, and the prospect of emasculation is too much to bear. The melodrama also serves to distract from disclosures of financial misdeeds, collusion, and whatnot.
31
If he's going to declare a national emergency to build his wall, then there is no reason to delay reopening the government. What's he waiting for? Perhaps he thinks he will ultimately lose in court, and not get his wall. The fact that he's harming Americans has not entered into his deliberations (I don't really think he's capable of deliberating).
14
If the wall wasn’t a national emergency when Republicans controlled Congress and the executive branch, two whole years, why is it now?
93
@Farina
Because Ann Coulter said so?
10
Enough is enough! Open our government now.
The only real crisis and national emergency is this government shutdown.
As a taxpayer I want to see finalized plans for anything with a $5,000,000,000+ price tag; especially before a vote is requested. Congress should never sign any blank checks this large.
31
Any minute now it will be Infrastructure Week. (Again.)
6
Mr. Trump, please go ahead and declare national emergency and get that threat out of the way. You and Congress can litigate in the courts. Meanwhile, open the government.
7
The president should immediately begin talks with Ann Coulter who goaded him into this impasse. Coulter called out the president and publicly questioned his manhood which made him back away from signing a bipartisan bill that would have addressed border security, but without a wall.
It’s not Nancy Pelosi with whom the president needs to negotiate, it’s Coulter. It’s her approval he needs to get this shutdown done.
15
So when a Democrat is in office in two years a National Emergency can be declared to outlaw guns and establish national health care. These both are real emergencies, not fake. So we are basically to where a dictator can declare a national emergency about something and take whatever action they want.
22
'“This is not a fight I wanted,” Mr. Trump said. “I didn’t want this fight.”'
Um, that isn't what you said in December, Mr. President.
88
"I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want"
Again. How is this small government? How is this conservative?
Eagerly awaiting another "think" piece from David Brooks explaining how the young and left are the ones who only frame things through our perspective of "selfism"
good grief!
75
I am waiting for the governors of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona (my State), and California to confirm that there is an emergency requiring the building of a multi-billion dollar wall. So far, nothing.
32
If he gets his wall, all you’ll hear about in 2020 is “I built that wall.” over and over again. Every debate, every commercial, every interview will go back to “I built that wall.”
Any debate over its effectiveness or costs will be second fiddle to “I built that wall.”
This is the election right here.
8
Let him do it. Declare a national security and order the military.....the corps engineers....to start building a wall, or installing steel slat fences. Just let him do it.
And, then watch the district court, appellate court, and US Supreme Court, who he thinks will support everything he wants to do.... just say NO. As they have already done wit the initial travel ban and the asylum issues.
8
Here it is, Democratic leaders. It's all you need to say into the microphone. Just wash, rinse, and repeat:
"Donald Trump's actions every day are hurting every citizen of this country. Period"
Blue, red, independent, or otherwise, everyone needs to get real with it.
14
The real "national emergency" is the clear and present danger that Trump poses to our government and to our nation.
He IS the threat!
We can only hope that rational legislators and governmental officials at all levels will take steps to address this terrible threat and to remove him from power before yet more damage is done
10
"I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want.” Do national emergency? I used to think all the reports of Trump being barely literate were just nasty politics, but I'm not sure anymore.
24
@bruce -- Somebody needs to remind Trump that he does not have "the absolute right" to do ANYTHING!
Trump is not a king. We have a Constitution, and nowhere in that Constitution is it written that the president, -any- president, has the "absolute right" to do anything.
This Trump concept is so very dangerous - how much more clear can it be that Trump is unfit, unstable, and an ongoing threat to our democracy?
3
It is sad to the federal govenment shutdown due one issue: border security. Our governement is now more than ever, is so fundamentally divided that we are willing to risk the livelihood of potentially millions of Americans. Both parties need to stop for a second a reevaluate what they are doing. In the end there is no right or wrong, it depends on perspective. But, what is right is to open the government as soon as possible, then afterwards, discuss border security.
8
@Mayur
There is indeed a right and wrong, just as there are some things that are un-American and antithetical to the very ideals and principles this country was founded upon. Trump is a major proponent of anti-Democratic, un-American, unconstitutional actions, ideas, and policies, and as such, should be stopped.
2
@Mayur Both Parties . . . seriously? Could it be you mean Republicans and Executive Branch.
5
"I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want.”
...or you could learn to speak English in your free time.
“I think we have tremendous Republican support”
....and that's he waited until after the Republicans were thrown out of office in the November election to take decisive, incoherent action.
“The Senate has been incredible. Mitch McConnell has been incredible"
....no one is better at suspending and abandoning the Constitution and rejecting the will of the people than Mitch McConnell.
“The fact is that there is tremendous support”
...for your removal from office and the restoration of sanity.
The Emperor has no brain, no ideas, no strategy and no Presidential qualities.
Hail to the Null-Set-In-Chief !
250
@Socrates - "my senators", "my generals", "my base", "if I want".
It's like he's eight yrs. old, the toys are all his and he can do anything "I want".
For the first time in this 72 yr. old juvenile delinquent's life, he's been told "no", and as is his habit, he throws a tantrum and breaks everything.
I'm not one given to prayer, but I'm to the point I'll get down on my knees and beg to see Mueller put him in a much needed and thoroughly well deserved time out - 5 or 10 years worth in a 10 x 10 cell with a roommate named Big Jose.
39
@Deb -- Nope, can't do it, won't happen.
The Eighth Amendment forbids what that would do to any roommate.
Trump will end up in 'solitary confinement' - there's nobody heinous enough to warrant having to share space with him involuntarily.
14
@Jim Brokaw
And who is going to enforce the Eighth Amendment when the courts are shut down in a state of emergency?
What a tiresome whiner.
We don't get to pick our fights in life, Mr. Non-President. Grow up.
You can't negotiate with this person because his words are written in hot air that dissipates as soon as his pursed-up lips release it.
Congress should go about their business. McConnell should be liable in civil court for every family whose credit rating is damaged because their pay check is late and they miss a credit card payment. The gutless Senate majority leader needs to bring bipartisan legislature to the floor for a vote regardless of whether Trump says he'll veto it--because you never know, he might change his mind before it reaches his desk. And if he vetoes it, senators might become indignant enough to override.
Stop the obstruction, McConnell. Stop babying the Great Orange Baby.
333
@C Wolfe
McConnell has proven to be the feckless, fickle, spineless regressive he has always been.
The Senate leaders job is not to neglect or refuse to act because of what they believe a President that happens to be of their political party will or will not do.
50
Declaring he doesn't need congress and can unilaterally shoulder the responsibility and fallout for pushing his agenda through... how exactly is this supposed to convince its congressional detractors to support it? There must be an emoji for this.
73