Trump dares Congress over approving border wall funds
THREATENS TO SHUT DOWN GOVERNMENT AFTER CRITICISING IMMIGRATION LAWS AS ‘PATHETIC’
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would shut down the government in September if Congress did not approve enough border funding in next year’s budget to satisfy him, a threat he made after criticising immigration laws as “pathetic”.
In a speech to animated supporters in a sports arena in Washington, Michigan, north of Detroit, Trump sketched out his arguments for the 2018 midterm election, mixing praise for what he sees as his accomplishments and fanning fears of continuing threats to the nation, such as a border “overrun” by immigrants, drugs and murderous gangs.
“The Democrats don’t care about our military — they don’t — and they don’t care about our borders, and I don’t think they care much about crime,” Trump said.
Later, he added, “a vote for a Democrat in November is a vote for open borders and crime — it’s very simple. It’s also a vote for much higher taxes. It’s also a vote for ‘be careful of your Second Amendment,’ OK? Be careful.”
The president touted a $1.6 billion appropriation in the recent government spending plan as allowing for substantial construction of his promised wall on the US-Mexico border, even though much of the activity to date was begun before his presidency. But at the same time, he insisted the money turned over so far was not enough.
“We have to have borders and we have to have them fast ... and we need the wall,” he said, then referred to the fall spending bill: “We come up again on September 28, and if we don’t get border security, we have no choice; we’ll close down the country because we need border security.”
The president did not specify the amount of funding he thought necessary, although earlier administration estimates have cited a level north of $20 billion. He did not criticise Mexico nor repeat his campaign promise that Mexico would pay for the wall.
Trump’s speech — made under the auspices of his campaign — marked a return to one of the high points of his surprise 2016 victory: his win in Michigan, a state which for several presidential election cycles had gone to Democrats.
The county in which he spoke — Macomb — was the birthplace of the so-called Reagan Democrats, who helped usher in another Republican president 36 years before they and their ideological descendants pulled the state towards Trump.
He repeatedly called attention to the December passage of a tax cut plan, the easing of regulations and the appointment of numerous conservative judges, including Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch.