Pelosi to Trump: Stop Manufacturing a Crisis and Reopen the Govt
As Trump failed to offer any solution for reopening the government, the impasse over government shutdown persists.
By Rakesh Raman
After President Donald Trump’s xenophobic rant today from the Oval Office to extort money for a dubious border wall under the false pretext of national security, Democrats flatly dismissed Trump’s claims as a series of lies.
In his speech, Trump once again used fictional fears of illegal immigration as his excuse for the partial government shutdown which has now entered its 18th day and hurting hundreds of thousands of government workers who are not being paid their remuneration.
Trump is demanding Congressional approval of $5.7 billion for a border wall that he presumes will stop illegal influx of people from the Mexican border. Although Trump always maintained that Mexico will pay for the wall, now he is imposing this huge financial burden on American taxpayers, as Mexico has ridiculed Trump’s demand for payment.
After Trump’s address, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, delivered a similar address to counter Trump’s false claims for the border security and reasons for government shutdown. Both refused to accept Trump’s condition for reopening the government, saying Trump is spreading misinformation about the security issue.
After the #TrumpAddress, @SenSchumer & I turned our focus to the facts & how we can end the #TrumpShutdown. pic.twitter.com/mSYoyUOFCZ
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 9, 2019
“President Trump must stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis, and must reopen the government,” Pelosi said in her video message. “Sadly, much of what we have heard from President Trump throughout this senseless shutdown has been full of misinformation and even malice.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2019
Subsequently Schumer admonished Trump for his misdemeanors. “We don’t govern by temper tantrum. No president should pound the table and demand he gets his way or else the government shuts down, hurting millions of Americans who are treated as leverage.”
He added that most American presidents have used Oval Office addresses for noble purposes, but this president just used the backdrop of the Oval Office to manufacture a crisis, stoke fear, and divert attention from the turmoil in his administration.
As Trump failed to offer any solution for reopening the government, the impasse over government shutdown persists.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
