It’s not likely that President Trump will declare a national emergency at the southern border while addressing the nation Tuesday night, according to reports.
Although Trump has threatened to declare a national emergency, a person who reviewed a draft of the speech told the Wall Street Journal that Trump will focus on explaining his rationale for why a border wall is needed.
[Read more: Trump calls for border wall to solve ‘crisis of the heart, crisis of the soul’]
The draft of the speech also showed no indication that Trump would sign any bill ending the government shutdown, which is in its third week, if it did not include the funding he deems necessary for the border wall.
Trump announced Monday that he would address the nation at 9 p.m., during prime time, to talk about the government shutdown and the need for more security at the southern border.
The president will speak from the Oval Office, and his address is expected to last around seven to eight minutes.
According to the individual who read the speech draft, Trump will explain why he views the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border as a crisis. He will likely talk about illegal drugs coming over the border from Mexico and mention human trafficking.
Trump similarly referred to “the humanitarian and national security crisis on our Southern Border” in a fundraising email to supporters sent Tuesday evening.
The email cites “drugs are poisoning our loved ones,” “MS-13 gang members are threatening our safety,” and “illegal criminals are flooding our nation.”
