Flanked by Border Patrol officers, as well as Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of homeland security, and a cache of drugs, cash and weapons seized by authorities at the border, Trump again blamed the shutdown affecting vast swaths of the federal government on Democrats. He reiterated an untrue claim that Mexico would indirectly pay for the wall through a revamped trade agreement, and heard from people who had loved ones killed by immigrants.
“If we had a barrier of any kind, whether it’s steel or concrete,” Trump said of tragic stories involving violence and human trafficking, “they wouldn’t even bother trying. We could stop that cold.”
But as the government shutdown neared the end of its third week, the president left Washington with no additional negotiations scheduled with congressional leaders over a possible compromise that could both provide border security and open the government. In remarks to reporters Thursday, Trump did not rule out declaring a state of national emergency that could allow him to bypass Congress to fund the wall.
Asked if he would make such a declaration, an action that would likely face legal challenges, Trump said: “If this doesn’t work out, probably I will do it. I would almost say definitely.”
In the meeting with Border Patrol officials, Trump did not emphasize the need for an emergency, but invited locals to help him make his case.
A local pastor declared the problem a “humanitarian crisis.” And at one point, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who waged a brutal political battle with the president as an opponent during the 2016 primaries, praised Trump for “infusing more backbone” in the capital.
“When we see politicians go on TV and say the border’s secure and there is no crisis,” Cruz said, “they are ignoring reality.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.