Trump warns national emergency is on the cards

WASHINGTON: The United States is heading towards declaration of a national emergency that will draw its military into a domestic political wrangle after talks between the ruling executive and the opposition Democratic leadership broke down over funding a southern border wall, taking an already difficult impasse into gridlock territory.


President Trump walked out of a White House meeting with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and

Nancy Pelosi

on Wednesday after they refused to meet his demands for $5.7 billion to build a section of a border wall, saying they will not negotiate on the matter until he agrees to end the partial shutdown of the government by accepting their funding on everything except the wall.

“Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!” Trump tweeted soon after talks on resolving the twin issue of the wall and the shutdown collapsed in acrimony.


Several accounts based on leaks by those present at the meetings said Trump had lost his cool and banged the table before storming out, but the President denied there was any temper tantrum, saying because he knew the media would make up such as story “after Nancy said no to proper Border Security, I politely said bye-bye and left, no slamming!”

The deadlock, with or without the table slamming, makes it almost certain that the President will use provisions of a national emergency declaration to press ahead with building the southern wall or steel barrier as he calls it now.

“Great support for Border Security and the Wall.” @foxandfriends Even greater than anyone would know! “Presidents supporters do not want him to cave.” @SteveDoocy I won’t,” Trump tweeted on Thursday morning before he left for

Texas

, citing his favourite cable news channel Fox, along with his own views.


Trump is scheduled to visit the city of McAllen in Texas, in a district which abuts the Mexican border and is represented by Democrat Congressman Vincente Gonzalez who says the President’s demonization of the situation will not resonate with his constituents who know all too well that violence is at a three-decade low.

Trump has painted a terrifying picture of illegal immigrants pouring into the US and indulging in wanton crime, including rapes and murders, even though official figures and studies show that such traffic is at an all time low and immigrants commit less crime than native-both Americans.

Both President Trump and his Republican cohorts and the opposition Democrats believe they have painted the other side into a corner amid signs the government shutdown, which will enter a record 21stday on Friday, could extend into next week.

Some 800,000 federal workers, including in such crucial departments as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will go without a paycheck on Friday, the bi-weekly payday.

Many workers are reporters to be taking up temp jobs, including enrolling and driving Uber and Lyft, to keep the home fires burning. President Trump though claims that many government workers support his decision to not lift the partial shutdown because they want the wall.

Prospects of the President declaring a national emergency, which will allow him to draft the military and its budget to build the wall, is increasing by the hour as Democrats refuse to budge on the matter.

Trump told reporters he “may go that route” if he was unable to work out a deal with Democrat, saying, “I have the absolute right to do national emergency if I want. My threshold will be if I can’t make a deal with people that are unreasonable.”

The National Emergency will not involve suspension of civil liberties as it happened in India, but many critics say it is a slippery slope, and once the military is drawn into a political spat, the consequences are unpredictable.

As it is, President Trump opened another can of worms on Wednesday by unloading on California, announcing that he is cutting off funding for the state because of is poor management in controlling forest fires that have devastated parts of the state.

“Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen,” Trump tweeted. “Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!”


The tweet prompted Gary Newsom, the newly elected governor of the state, to warn that “We have been put in office by the voters to get things done, not to play games with lives.”

“Disasters and recovery are no time for politics. I’m already taking action to modernize and manage our forests and emergency responses. The people of CA -- folks in Paradise -- should not be victims to partisan bickering,” he added in another tweet, he wrote.

California, the world’s 6th largest economy in the world if seen as a country, contributing the highest tax revenue in the US and giving the federal government more than it receives.