Trump speech: President accused of 'stoking fear' over border immigration as he demands wall funding to end 'crisis'
Mr Trump steers clear of declaring national emergency over border but Republicans and Democrats are no closer to deal to end shutdown
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has told the American people that the US is facing a “humanitarian and security crisis” on its southern border during his first-ever prime time address from the Oval Office on Tuesday, as a nineteenth day of partial government shutdown loomed.
Mr Trump urged congressional Democrats to fund his long-promised border wall in the sombre televised address that was heavy with dark immigration rhetoric, which caused Democrats to accuse the president of “stoking fear”.
“How much more American blood must be shed before Congress does its job?” he said, recounting gruesome details of murders he said were committed by illegal immigrants.
But after days of hinting he might use presidential powers to declare an emergency as a first step toward directing money for the wall without congressional approval, Mr Trump said he would continue seeking a solution to the impasse with Congress.
Democrats have so far flat out rejected Mr Trump’s demand for $5.6bn (£4.4bn) to build the wall, and the budgetary showdown over that money has left 800,000 public sector staff either furloughed or working without pay until the issue is resolved.
All major US television networks aired Mr Trump’s speech, prompting Democrats, who say a wall would be expensive, inefficient and immoral, to seek equal time in an address directly after the president.
They used it to accuse the president of implementing fear tactics and spreading misinformation about the situation along the border.
“The president has chosen fear. We want to start with the facts,” said Nancy Pelosi, Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives.
“The fact is, President Trump has chosen to hold hostage critical services for the health, safety and well-being of the American people and withhold the paychecks of 800,000 innocent workers across the nation, many of them veterans,” she said.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday found that 51 per cent of adults mainly blamed Mr Trump for the shutdown, up four percentage points from late December, while 32 per cent blamed congressional Democrats and seven per cent faulted Republicans in Congress
Mr Trump has invited the congressional leadership from both parties to another meeting at the White House on Wednesday afternoon to try and break the deadlock. Mr Trump then travels to the border on Thursday.
To see how events unfolded, follow our liveblog below
Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load
Reuters contributed to this report
Mr Trump's speech is set to begin as the shutdown has lasted precisely 17 days and 21 hours.
Mr Trump has started speaking calling the border issue a "humanitarian and security "crisis".
He says "all Americans" are hurt by illegal migration - calling the border a "mass pipeline for illegal drugs".
He calls it a "crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul".
He calls the number of children bought in are "pawns" of human smugglers. He claims 1 in 3 women face sexual assault on their way through Mexico. he cites no evidence for both.
It is true that women and children are a big part of immigration the border at the moment, but many are just part of families looking for asylum.
Mr Trump says that “at the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier and not a concrete wall” and insists “the border wall would very quickly pay for itself.”
He calls the border wall "common sense" and that it would "quickly pay for itself".
He claims that it will be paid for INDIRECTLY by the new trade deal with Canada and Mexico.
There is just wrong, the deal still needs to be ratified by Congress and Congress must still appropriate the money for the wall.
Different tone from Mr Trump slightly:
“Why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences and gates around their homes. they don’t build walls because they hate the people on the outside but because they love the people on the inside.”
However, he is quickly back to horror stories about violent crimes he says have been committed by illegal immigrants.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments