As Trump prepares to give a State of the Union demanding funding for his wall (followed by another shutdown or illegal “emergency” declaration), yesterday gave a glimpse at just how nonsensical his arguments have become.
Per Vox, in the past two months alone, Trump has tried to rebrand his wall in several absurd ways, including as “steel slats,” “a great Steel Barrier,” and (oddly) “Peaches.” Trump has also started insisting that the wall is already being built. Fact check: wrong.
Vox’s Aaron Rupar hits the nail on the head: “If the goal of [Trump’s] rebranding efforts is to boost the wall’s popularity, he has failed.”
The American people do not want a wall. They don’t want another shutdown or an illegal emergency declaration, either. Trump lost the shutdown battle with Speaker Pelosi, yet he continues to dig his heels in on a policy priority that’s nothing more than a racist dog-whistle to his base.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to make good faith negotiations on border security all but impossible. All of this nonsense is just more reason why Congressional Democrats should not only reject Trump’s wall in negotiations, they should also reject anything that furthers his hateful and inhumane detention policies. The Center for American Progress immigration team lays out their guidelines here.
OFF-KILTER: POINT IN TIME COUNT.
This week on Off-Kilter Podcast:
- “DC’s high housing costs pushed me in and out of homelessness for 30 years.”
- The #TrumpShutdown hung farmers out to dry right before spring planting.
- This week’s roundup of the week’s biggest stories in poverty and inequality.
Listen to the new episode here.