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
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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
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Reuters contributed to this report
President Trump said, “All Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal immigration.”
It’s very difficult to know exactly how much or little undocumented immigrants cost the United States. Many experts contest the notion that undocumented immigrants are a strain on the economy. A 2017 analysis noted that undocumented immigrants “make considerable tax contributions,” for example.
Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are now speaking
Ms Pelosi starts by saying “much of what we have heard from President Trump throughout this senseless shutdown has been full of misinformation and even malice.”
Ms Pelosi accuses Mr Trump of "manufacturing a crisis."
“The fact is: the women and children at the border are not a security threat, they are a humanitarian challenge – a challenge that President Trump’s own cruel and counterproductive policies have only deepened. And the fact is: President Trump must stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis, and must re-open the government.”
Mr Schumer is now up and says that the government is not run by temper tantrum, a barb against Mr Trump.
He calls on a separation between the border issue and the shutdown.
Mr Schumer says that the symbol of the US shoudl be the Statue of Liberty, not a "30ft wall".
Mr Schumer ends by trying to blame the shutdown on Trump, a reverse of the argument offered by the president.
“So our suggestion is a simple one: Mr. President: re-open the government and we can work to resolve our differences over border security. But end this shutdown now,” said the top Senate Democrat.
Representative Justin Amash, a Republican from Michigan has summed up the tit-for-tat nature of those exchanges.
Mr Trump has said he has asked Congressional leadership to the White House tomorrow to try and cut a deal. he claimed in his address that all it will take is a "45-minute meeting".
Mr Schumer said the solution was obvious:
"There is bipartisan legislation — supported by Democrats and Republicans — to re-open government while allowing debate over border security to continue. There is no excuse for hurting millions of Americans over a policy difference,"
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