Trump Budges On Border Wall

[Kathianne]

FOX headline, don't shoot the messenger!

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/25/trumps-reported-shift-on-border-wall-money-could-prevent-govt-shutdown.html


Trump budges on border wall funding, easing shutdown standoff <time pubdate="" datetime="2017-04-25T06:08:00.000-04:00" style="font-weight: normal; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 3px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; vertical-align: top; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); display: inline-block;">Published April 25, 2017</time> Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/)



President Trump began to edge away Monday evening from demanding funding for his promised border wall be included in a must-pass spending bill, reducing the chances of a government shutdown at the end of the week by making clear he’s flexible on that timeline.

Trump told a group of 20 conservative media reporters Monday evening that he would be willing to return to the wall funding issue in September, two people in the meeting said. His earlier demand that it be included represented a significant impasse in budget talks, and the latest comments potentially could pave the way for a bipartisan deal just days ahead of the government shutdown deadline.

White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway confirmed to “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning that the wall does not need to be funded this week, but she said it remains a “very important priority to [Trump].”

...

[Abbey Marie]

Ugh. He's making me unhappy. Let's have a bake sale

[Black Diamond]

Government shut down would be embarrassing considering republicants have full control. Trump will be blamed if it shuts down.

[NightTrain]

And this is how the GOP fucks up a sure thing in 2018.

Congress had better get on board, and fast.

[Black Diamond]

And this is how the GOP fucks up a sure thing in 2018.

Congress had better get on board, and fast.
First the Obamacare repeal and now this.

[Kathianne]

First the Obamacare repeal and now this.

and those pesky subsidies for HC, that now seem to be 'under review' too, (as in keeping them going, just as the big gov't types want.) This morning though, looks like there's a bit more bellicosity a twitter, though final results won't be known until the end of the week:

http://hotair.com/archives/2017/04/25/confusion-trump-preparing-cave-funding-wall-week-standoff-democrats-not/


Confusion: Is Trump preparing to cave on funding for the wall this week in his standoff with Dems or not?
POSTED AT 11:21 AM ON APRIL 25, 2017 BY ALLAHPUNDIT

Sure sounded that way last night, as Ed noted this morning. This tweet yesterday wasn’t promising either:


Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall.
8:44 AM - 23 Apr 2017

“Eventually,” “in some form,” “at a later date” — we’re a long way from candidate Trump bellowing “Mexico will pay” on the trail. Kellyanne Conway sounded like she was expecting the White House to cave too when she was asked about the wall this morning on Fox:

“Building that wall and having it funded remains an important priority to him. But we also know that that can happen later this year and into next year. And in the interim you see other smart technology and other resources and tools being used toward border security,” she said. “We’ll have those enhancements for border security and then moving on to funding and building the wall later on.”


When a Fox host suggested that Trump wouldn’t be getting funding for the wall this week, Conway agreed, “not this week.” Seems pretty straightforward, then: Knowing that support for the wall is consistently weak in polling and fearing that the GOP would be blamed if the government shut down over it, the White House wisely decided to avert a standoff and postpone the funding issue for another day. Instead they’ll seek funding for other border-security measures, like … blimps and things.


At least, that was the state of the play early this morning. But as Trump’s critics started snickering that the Great Negotiator had already thrown in the towel on one of his core promises, and as the media began noticing that Trump’s opponents have been surprisingly successful at calling his bluff during the first hundred days, the annoyance inside the White House began to rise…


Follow
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Don't let the fake media tell you that I have changed my position on the WALL. It will get built and help stop drugs, human trafficking etc.
5:36 AM - 25 Apr 2017
Sources started whispering to reporters that he wasn’t backing down after all:

David Wright @DavidWright_CNN

News: After tweet this morning saying he's not backing down on wall, WH official says Trump expects money for wall this week (via @Acosta)


6:34 AM - 25 Apr 2017

Jonathan Karl ✔ @jonkarl
Not so fast. @PressSec tells me @realDonaldTrump has not backed down on getting wall funding now; it remains a priority for both FY16 & '17
5:53 AM - 25 Apr 2017

Now that Trump’s credibility is on the line, maybe we’ll get that shutdown after all. According to the Daily Beast, it’s Steve Bannon who’s urging him to hold firm:

“This is a stand worth taking,” Bannon told allies last week, according to two White House sources with direct knowledge who talked to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity to speak freely. “We’re drawing a line in the sand.”


“[Bannon] was pushing for this standoff, very hard,” another Trump administration official said. “He is 100-percent committed to this [specific] fight… to show that [the White House is] tough on immigration [enforcement], tough on the border—show they’re serious about the wall.”


No word on which advisors are pushing Trump the other way, to concede on the funding issue now and focus on the wall later, but it’s a safe bet that the Kushner/Cohn/Ivanka contingent isn’t gung ho to shut down the government over a top nationalist priority. Who wins this battle in the Bannon vs. Kushner war? We’ll know by Saturday.


By the way, remember that funding for the wall is one of only two key demands at the heart of the shutdown standoff. The other is funding for ObamaCare’s cost-sharing subsidies, which Trump has been threatening to block unless Democrats give him his wall money. If the wall money isn’t happening after all, does that mean the funding for the subsidies isn’t either — or is he preparing to cave on that too?

[Black Diamond]

I hope he blocks the Obamacare funds. Don't throw in the towel on everything. Remember when Obama kept his promise on gitmo? Me neither.

[Abbey Marie]

I believe I've said previously here that The Wall is one promise he'd better keep. Even if he has to use his own $$ to do it. And what happened to the promise that Mexico would pay for it?
I feel pretty certain that if he does not build it, it's the end of his political career, and we can say hello to President Warren or President Sanders. We'd better hope we get at least one more USSC appointment before 2018.

[Black Diamond]

I believe I've said previously here that The Wall is one promise he'd better keep. Even if he has to use his own $$ to do it. And what happened to the promise that Mexico would pay for it?
I feel pretty certain that if he does not build it, it's the end of his political career, and we can say hello to President Warren or President Sanders. We'd better hope we get at least one more USSC appointment before 2018.
I'm not sure republicans want to pay for it, including McCain And it's always been trade tools that would make Mexico pay for it. I would settle for Obamacare repeal and no wall. Just like obamabots don't complain about gitmo being open. Also a government shutdown falls mainly on trumps shoulders. Fair or not.

[Black Diamond]

and those pesky subsidies for HC, that now seem to be 'under review' too, (as in keeping them going, just as the big gov't types want.) This morning though, looks like there's a bit more bellicosity a twitter, though final results won't be known until the end of the week:

http://hotair.com/archives/2017/04/25/confusion-trump-preparing-cave-funding-wall-week-standoff-democrats-not/
You'd think kushner would have more pull than Bannon

[Kathianne]

You'd think kushner would have more pull than Bannon

Whatever else may be said, it's certainly not run of the mill. He's 'shaking things up,' at least media wise.

[Black Diamond]

Whatever else may be said, it's certainly not run of the mill. He's 'shaking things up,' at least media wise.
Trump has done some good things: deregulation, keystone, etc. But
the wiretapping claim took wind out of his sails after the strong SOTU. Get the feeling there is chaos at times.

[Kathianne]

Trump has done some good things: deregulation, keystone, etc. But
the wiretapping claim took wind out of his sails after the strong SOTU. Get the feeling there is chaos at times.

NO!!?? LOL! You say that as if you are surprised. :coffee:

[Black Diamond]

NO!!?? LOL! You say that as if you are surprised. :coffee:
I am still glad Hillary didn't win. I don't know think the lack of Obamacare repeal is trumps fault. But the president gets blamed unless it's Obama. I think trump has always thrived on chaos. It just makes me cringe. . I am not surprised about the wiretapping claim with no evidence hurting trump.

[Black Diamond]

NO!!?? LOL! You say that as if you are surprised. :coffee:
Bottom line is I am upset things are not being completely redone. I am happy gorsuch is in instead of God knows who. But no Obamacare repeal?? And take trumps f-ing Twitter account away. I am nervous we only have a couple years to get all this crap done. Maybe I should start praying more. What a concept.

[Kathianne]

I am still glad Hillary didn't win. I don't know think the lack of Obamacare repeal is trumps fault. But the president gets blamed unless it's Obama. I think trump has always thrived on chaos. It just makes me cringe. . I am not surprised about the wiretapping claim with no evidence hurting trump.

I know the 'wiretapping thing' didn't hurt Trump, it hurt and will continue to hurt Obama's subzero legacy. As. It. Should.

Trump's approval/disapproval isn't going to change much, at least in the near term. If they get something done with repealing Obamacare, without making it more expensive than the boondoggle it already is, he'll pick up a point or two. If the tax cuts help start rebuilding a middle class, they'll go up more.

My guess though is that his numbers will never be where his supporters think they should be, because Trump. With that said, barring his really pissing off his supporters, he's likely to be re-elected if that's what he chooses to do. (Just remember I also said for a long time, he COULD win, even when some of his supporters thought it unlikely.)

[jimnyc]

I do believe it would start going up today if Trump were to get his way. Since it's his biggest promise (to me anyway), dems in congress want to stop him in any way possible.

---

WH: Trump’s Priorities on Border Wall Have Not Changed

(CNSNews.com) - The White House said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s priorities “have not changed” as far as building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is concerned.

“The president made it very clear -- I think he tweeted about this earlier -- his priorities have not changed. There will be a wall built. It's important to prevent human trafficking, gangs like MS-13 from coming into the country, the flow of illegal drugs, illegal immigration,” White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said.

“Don't let the fake media tell you that I have changed my position on the WALL. It will get built and help stop drugs, human trafficking etc,” the president tweeted Tuesday.

On Monday, he tweeted “The Wall is a very important tool in stopping drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth (and many others)! If ....the wall is not built, which it will be, the drug situation will NEVER be fixed the way it should be!”

“There is a national economic and safety issue by having a wall that ensures our country's safety, and there's plenty of planning that can be done in FY17. We're going to continue -- our priorities are clear going into FY17, the remainder of budgeting for that, and we'll continue to ask for more in FY18,” the press secretary said.

Spicer emphasized that there will not be a delay in funding for the wall.

“No, no. I never -- no one said delayed. No, no -- there's two budget processes,” he said. “Right now we're going to end FY17 this week.

“We hope to continue to get funding in that, as the president laid out, for both border security and homeland security and national defense, as we've always maintained, and then when we come to FY18, that starts at the beginning of October, the end of September, and that next budget will go for the next group of money,” Spicer said.

“We've made our priorities very clear as we continue to negotiate, and I think nothing has changed on the president's priorities,” he said.

When asked whether the president is no longer insisting there is money for the wall in the current appropriations bill, Spicer said, “The president's priorities are clear for FY17

“There's a lot of things that we can do in the remaining months, up until the end of September, for planning and making sure that we get everything that we need, funding that we need for that aspect of things, and then as we go into FY18, we'll continue to ask for more. I don’t think anything has changed,” he added.

When asked whether the president is insisting that there is money for actual construction of the wall in the current appropriations bill, Spicer said, “We are still in discussions with the House and Senate leadership, but I think the president has been very clear that he wants a wall. He wants it done as soon as we can do it.

“There are things that we need to do to protect our country -- like human trafficking, the flow of illegal drugs and gangs -- that are going to make sure that while we've achieved a significant drop in illegal alien border crossings -- down 61 percent since January -- that this is something that's in our country's long-term national security interest,” Spicer added.

When asked whether actual construction of the wall can wait until the fall, Spicer said, “No, it's not a question of wait until the fall. I think there's a lot of things that have to happen. It's like any construction.”

“Before you start construction?” the reporter asked.

“Well, you got to start doing some planning and things, and so we will take the first steps now, and then we will continue to seek funding through the FY18 and further budget to make sure that the actual -- that it is completed,” Spicer said.

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/melanie-arter/wh-trumps-priorities-border-wall-have-not-changed