Trump interview: President says border situation is 'national emergency' as he edges closer to declaration
President takes trip to Texas on 20th day of government shutdown
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has doubled down on his threat to declare a national emergency to free up federal funds to build a wall on a visit to Texas as part of an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.
When asked how soon it would be before he declare an emergency, the president said "if we don't make a deal with Congress most likely I will do that". Despite the fact any such move would bring legal challenges, Mr Trump said the law is "100 per cent on my side".
He went on to call the situation at the border "a national emergency, if you look what's happening."
Mr Trump did not lay out a specific timetable for when he might take the step of a declaration, saying: “I think we're going to see what happens over the next few days.”
Critics have accused Mr Trump of "manufacturing" a border crisis to try and get the wall as part of a deal to end a partial government shutdown.
Two days after delivering a televised address to the nation to make his case for a wall, and a day after he abruptly left a meeting with Democrats after they refused to pay for one, Mr Trump travelled to the city of McAllen where he signed autographs for supporters and met border agency officials.
As he left the White House for his visit to Texas, Mr Trump again denied throwing a “temper tantrum” during the encounter with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi a day earlier.
At a roundtable meeting with community leaders and officials in McAllen, among them Texas senator Ted Cruz, the president repeated his insistence that a wall would be be built.
“We’re going to build a powerful steel barrier. They said we don’t want a concrete wall. I said that’s okay, we’ll call it a steel barrier,” he said.
“They say this is a manufactured crisis. That’s their new sound bite ... Every network has ‘manufactured crisis’. But it’s not. What’s manufactured is the word ‘manufactured’.”
The president - who has cancelled an upcoming trip to Davos, Switzerland, because of the shutdown - also sought to address those critics who have pointed out he used to repeatedly promise Mexico would pay for any barrier. He claimed without evidence that the terms of a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada will provide the money for the wall.
“When I say Mexico’s going to pay for the wall ... I didn’t say they’re going to write me a check for $10bn or $20bn,” he said. “If Congress approves this trade bill, they’ll pay for the wall many times over. When I say Mexico’s going to lpay for the wall, that’s what I mean”.
To see how events unfolded throughout the day, see our liveblog below
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More from the president on declaring a national emergency. He said he had the "absolute right" to do so, but would prefer "to do the deal through congress".
"I haven't done it yet. I may do it. If this doesn't work out, probably I will do it. I would almost say definitely," he added, saying such a declaration would be the "easy route" to funding a wall.
Another clip from the president's press conference in which he discusses technology use at the border.
He is a "professional at technology", he told reporters.
A number of legislators have spoken out about how they believe a national emergency declaration is futile.
Representative Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma, said a declaration would merely be "punting" the issue to the courts, with a number of legal challenges almost certain to follow.
“It’s not the best use of presidential power,” he told MSNBC. “I’d rather get to a deal,” Mr Cole added. “I do think others agree with me.”
Critics say an emergency declaration would be illegal. Even some Republicans who want to build a wall have said they do not want money to taken from the military for it.
Nancy Pelosi is now speaking as as part of her weekly House Speaker address:
She says thousands are being "affected by the president's petulance".
She is aiming some of her remarks at the Senate, with majority leader Mitch McConnell having said Republicans will not vote on anything Donald Trump would not sign.
"Take the chance to say yes," says Ms Pelosi of the bills the House has already passed to open the government.
Ms Pelosi says she believes the meeting at the White House yesterday was a "set-up" so that Mr Trump could walk out.
Ms Pelosi says that she did not say "no" to a request from Mr Trump to fund border security after 30 days if the president opened the government now.
She said that the president directly asked for funding for the border wall and she said "no" to that. Ms Pelosi says Democrats support border security.
Ms Pelosi says the Democrats are always open to conversations on immigration reform.
"I told the president 'you keep shifting the goal posts so much, they are now outside the stadium'".
Asked about what she would say to families who have lost love ones to crimes by illegal immigrants, Ms Pelosi says:
"These are tragic situations... but as painful as one death is - it is too much to bear - we need a solution to the security of our border".
"What the president is suggesting is not the answer"
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