President Trump announced that he will address the nation on Tuesday evening, 9 pm Eastern, and deliver a speech on what he calls a “national security crisis on our Southern Border.”
The President is also scheduled to visit the border on Thursday. The terminology and visit may be a sign that Trump plans to follow through on the suggestion that he could fund the border wall by declaring a national emergency.
“I may declare a national emergency dependent on what’s going to happen over the next few days,” he told reporters prior to heading to Camp David for meetings with senior White House staff.
Specifically declaring it a “national security crisis,” Trump made the announcement of his speech on social media.
I am pleased to inform you that I will Address the Nation on the Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border. Tuesday night at 9:00 P.M. Eastern.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2019
Smart Move By Trump
Navigating around Democrats to deliver a speech directly to the American people is a brilliant tactic by the President. It’s clear that leaders in the Party, most notably House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, have no interest in hearing the facts. But the American people will surely be interested.
Schumer and Pelosi both ignored and rejected facts about criminality and terrorist ties at the border during a recent briefing by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
Nielsen reported that border officials apprehended 17,000 criminals attempting to make unlawful entry into our country last year, including 3,000 people with terrorist ties.
The American people might be interested in knowing the types of people Democrats are allowing into the country with their government shutdown ploy.
Networks Are Debating On Whether or Not to Air the Address
Granted, President Trump never specifically claimed his address would appear on broadcast or cable news programs, but that hasn’t stopped every mainstream outlet from openly discussing the possibility of not airing the address because they, like their Democrat colleagues, aren’t fans of border-security facts.
Okay—networks don’t want to cover Trump’s address? Fine.
They should also agree not to give any analysis of it thereafter.
You can’t say it’s your mission to inform people and then, in lieu of informing them, give them only a manipulative version of events.
— Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) January 7, 2019
Bloomberg News reports that networks continue to debate airing the speech, noting that “at least one is still deliberating whether to grant Trump the television time.”
Should they deny the President, he could simply post a video on his Twitter feed, a far more popular venue than liberal media stations.
Democrat Signals Progress on Border Wall Compromise
Trump’s move to deliver a primetime address will also force the hand of the opposition party, as at least one Democrat has signaled progress is being made on border-wall negotiations.
Democrat Senator Chris Coons noted that the President’s willingness to consider a steel wall design is an important step in the negotiation process.
“I am someone who is willing to see more border fencing as long as we choose a technology that DHS says is going to be effective and I do think his moving towards steel slats rather than concrete wall, if it holds, is important,” Coons explained.
Perhaps the national address will be the extra push Democrats need to finally agree to fund the border wall and end the government shutdown.
