He may not have declared a state of emergency yet, but experts warn that authoritarian tendencies are already creeping in.
On Tuesday night Trump pulled back from the brink. For now.
After claiming last week that he could declare a national emergency and unilaterally authorize and fund the construction of a wall on the U.S./Mexico border, Trump used his prime-time address on Tuesday night to quietly back away from the idea. Instead of side-stepping Congress, Trump called on Democrats to pass a spending bill that would reopen the federal government and allocate more than $5 billion in funding for his wall.
“The only solution is for Democrats to pass a spending bill that reopens our government and defends our borders,” Trump said. “I have invited Congressional leaders to the White House to get this done. Hopefully we can rise above partisan politics.”
View the complete January 9 article by Luke Barnes on the ThinkProgress.org website here.