Schumer on Trump’s Shutdown Threat: He’s ‘Made Clear He’ll Hold Parts of the Government Hostage’

EXCERPT:

SCHUMER: “President Trump made clear he’ll hold parts of the government hostage to a petty campaign pledge to fire up his base. That’s all it is. He never researched the wall; he talked about it on the campaign and he said, 'Oh, Mexico will pay for it.' If President Trump holds to this position that unless he gets his wall he’ll shut down the government, who will suffer needlessly? The American people. Of course Leader Pelosi and I had to spend much of the meeting trying to untie the knots in logic the president was tying himself in. President Trump started by bragging about how great border security is going under his watch -- and that, by the way, is with no wall. If it were truly the case, as the president said, that border security is better than it’s ever been, what’s wrong with another year of the same funding? If things are going so great, why does he have to threaten to shut down the government for his $5 billion wall? It makes no sense. And none of it is based on fact. Mr. President, there is no wall. Mr. President, Mexico has not agreed to pay for it. None of that is true, and it is difficult, if nearly impossible, to negotiate with the president in front of the press who peddles such blatant and dangerous falsehoods.”