Democratic leaders are doubling down on accusations that President Trump’s description of a crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border is “manufactured,” as the president prepares to visit the front-lines on the heels of his Oval Office address to the nation.
The response to the speech underscores how increasingly polarized the debate has become and how little progress is being made toward a resolution to the standoff that triggered a partial government shutdown nearly three weeks ago.
Trump plans to meet with congressional leaders once again in the Situation Room Wednesday afternoon, ahead of his planned trip to the southern Texas border on Thursday. But past meetings have resulted in both sides digging in, with Trump insisting on nearly $6 billion for a border wall and Democrats saying they won’t entertain the discussion until Congress passes and Trump signs a package re-opening shuttered federal agencies.
Tuesday night’s primetime address saw both camps drifting even further apart, with Trump declaring a “humanitarian and security crisis" and vowing to protect America, “so help me God” – and Democratic congressional leaders saying Trump is working to “manufacture a crisis, stoke fear and divert attention from the turmoil in his administration."
