Despite overwhelming support from citizens to end the partial government shutdown caused by President Donald Trump over funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, he will go on TV tonight in what is being billed by the White House as an address on the border “crisis” and the need to spend billions on a wall to keep refugees and immigrants out.
“Trump promised Mexico would pay for his wall and yet he and the Republican Party instead are turning to the American people to bail him out of a ridiculous political stunt,” said Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb. “Shutting down our government and inflicting pain on working class families must end.”
Trump could easily end the government shutdown whenever he wants to. Instead, he continues to hold workers’ paychecks hostage for his political stunt in exchange for congressional approval of money for the wall.
Democrats and an increasing number of Republicans continue to urge Trump and Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) to end the Trump Shutdown and reopen the government while Congress debates Trump’s expensive and ineffective wall.
“He’s rejected the bipartisan House-passed bills to reopen the government, which have already received strong bipartisan support in the Senate,” Kleeb said. “The president has repeatedly lied and spread misinformation to push his manufactured crisis at the border, And we can expect tonight’s remarks to be more of the same.”
In fact, the major TV networks were debating whether to even broadcast Trump’s remarks, which are set for 8 p.m. CT.
“He calls us fake news all the time, but needs access to airwaves … If we give him the time, he’ll deliver a fact-free screed without rebuttal,” one TV news executive texted to CNN’s Brian Stelter. “And if we don’t give him the time, he’ll call every network partisan. So we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.”
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) released a statement on behalf of the 800,000 federal workers going without paychecks during the shutdown
Real families with very real bills are being harmed and it’s time we hold our country’s leadership accountable,” the AFGE said. “Our average member’s take home pay is $500 a week. Any financial uncertainty causes stress and anxiety; if the shutdown isn’t resolved and a back pay bill isn’t approved soon we are going to have many employees throughout the country who will not be able to make ends meet.”
Kleeb plans to release a statement after the address,
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