President Trump on Tuesday used Twitter to lay out his case for a wall on the southern U.S. border, just hours before he was set to negotiate the issue with top Democrats.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are standing in his way of the $5 billion he wants for more fencing and concrete wall at the border. But in a series of tweets, Trump warned the two Democratic leaders that he would ultimately get what he wants.
“The Wall will get built,” he said.
Trump is set to meet with Schumer, D-N.Y., and Pelosi, D-Calif., just before noon on Tuesday. He predicted they would fight the wall “at all cost,” but said he’d also do whatever he can to build it, even if he needs the military to build it.
“If the Democrats do not give us the votes to secure our Country,” Trump wrote, “the Military will build the remaining sections of the Wall.”
Schumer and Pelosi plan to offer Trump $1.3 billion in funding for border security, which significantly falls short of the $5 billion Trump is demanding to build the wall. It’s also less than the $1.6 billion the Senate has already approved.
Congress has until Dec. 21 to reach a deal on spending to avoid a partial government shutdown. Trump wants wall money included in that deal.
Trump credited newly built portions of the wall for stopping migrants who traveled in a caravan to the U.S.-Mexico border from crossing the border.
“Despite the large Caravans that WERE forming and heading to our Country, people have not been able to get through our newly built Walls, makeshift Walls & Fences, or Border Patrol Officers & Military. They are now staying in Mexico or going back to their original countries,” he tweeted.
“Our Southern Border is now Secure and will remain that way … People do not yet realize how much of the Wall, including really effective renovation, has already been built,” he wrote in other tweets.
Despite the large Caravans that WERE forming and heading to our Country, people have not been able to get through our newly built Walls, makeshift Walls & Fences, or Border Patrol Officers & Military. They are now staying in Mexico or going back to their original countries…….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2018
…..Ice, Border Patrol and our Military have done a FANTASTIC job of securing our Southern Border. A Great Wall would be, however, a far easier & less expensive solution. We have already built large new sections & fully renovated others, making them like new. The Democrats,…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2018
….however, for strictly political reasons and because they have been pulled so far left, do NOT want Border Security. They want Open Borders for anyone to come in. This brings large scale crime and disease. Our Southern Border is now Secure and will remain that way…….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2018
…..I look forward to my meeting with Chuck Schumer & Nancy Pelosi. In 2006, Democrats voted for a Wall, and they were right to do so. Today, they no longer want Border Security. They will fight it at all cost, and Nancy must get votes for Speaker. But the Wall will get built…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2018
….People do not yet realize how much of the Wall, including really effective renovation, has already been built. If the Democrats do not give us the votes to secure our Country, the Military will build the remaining sections of the Wall. They know how important it is!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2018
