The United States President Donald Trump has used the first Oval Office address of his presidency to incite the fears of illegal migration movement, claimed for his US-Mexico border wall and offered no new solution to end the partial government shutdown.
According to news reported by The Guardians, Trump lashed out on criminal gangs and “vast quantities of illegal drugs” for “thousands of deaths” and leading Democrats for failing to fund for border wall and end the shutdown, as the shutdown enters its 18th day. Also, Democrats accused Trump of fear-mongering.
Speaking with primetime viewers, Trump said, “This is a humanitarian crisis – a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul,” while describing the situation at the border.
Trump said, “Law enforcement professionals have requested $5.7bn for a physical barrier.” Expressing the importance of wall, Trump said, “At the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall. This barrier is absolutely critical to border security. It’s also what our professionals at the border want and needs.”
Asserting that he has asked Mexico to fund for the border wall, Trump said, “This is just common sense. The border wall would very quickly pay for itself. The cost of illegal drugs exceeds $500bn a year, vastly more than the $5.7bn we have requested from Congress. The wall will also be paid for indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico.”
Fact-checkers have indicated that Trump’s demand could lead Mexico to pay for the border wall. Though, the Mexican government has always denied doing so. Following Trump’s address, critics got assured that Democrats would never pass the fund, whether it is concrete or still.
With the third-week partial government shutdown, instead of offering a new solution, Trump has said: “The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only: because Democrats will not fund border security.”
While calling on Democrats to pass a spending bill, Trump added: “This situation could be solved in a 45-minute meeting … Hopefully, we can rise above partisan politics in order to support national security.”
The Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and the house speaker Nancy Pelosi, from the speaker’s balcony hallway, continuously opposed Trump’s demand of construction of a border wall and urged him to re-open the government.
Pelosi said: “Sadly, much of what we have heard from President Trump throughout this senseless shutdown has been full of misinformation and even malice.”
Pelosi added: “President Trump must stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis, and must reopen the government.”
Schumer said: “We don’t govern by temper tantrum. No president should pound the table and demand he gets his way or else the government shuts down, hurting millions of Americans who are treated as leverage.”
He added: “Tonight – and throughout this debate and his presidency – President Trump has appealed to fear, not facts. Division, not unity.”
Attacking Trump for his Oval office address purpose, Schumer said, “Most presidents have used Oval Office addresses for noble purposes. This president just used the backdrop of the Oval Office to manufacture a crisis, stoke fear, and divert attention from the turmoil in his administration.”
Trump will attend a senate republican lunch meeting on Wednesday, then will continue his visit to the southern border on Thursday. US partial government shutdown is the second-longest shutdown in the history.