In a highly anticipated prime-time event, President Donald Trump delivered his first Oval Office address Tuesday night to discuss the continued battle over funding for his border wall.
“This is just common sense. The border wall would very quickly pay for itself. The cost of illegal drugs exceeds $500 billion a year vastly more than the $5.7 billion we have requested from Congress. The wall will also be paid for indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico,” Trump said.
He also pointed out that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has “repeatedly supported a physical barrier in the past along with many other Democrats.”
“How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job? To those who refuse to compromise in the name of border security I would ask: imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken. To every member of Congress: pass a bill that ends this crisis,” Trump said.
Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) responded to Trump in their own address Tuesday night.
“I appreciate the opportunity to speak directly to the American people tonight about how we can end this shutdown and meet the needs of the American people. Sadly, much of what we heard from President Trump throughout this senseless shutdown has been full of misinformation and even malice,” Pelosi said.
After the #TrumpAddress, @SenSchumer & I turned our focus to the facts & how we can end the #TrumpShutdown. pic.twitter.com/mSYoyUOFCZ
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 9, 2019
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
