Could 6 Words Haunt Trump on Emergency Declaration?

'I didn't need to do this'
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 15, 2019 2:25 PM CST
6 Words May Hurt Trump on Emergency Declaration
President Trump speaks in the Rose Garden Friday about the border.   (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

As expected, President Trump declared a national emergency on Friday over the US-Mexico border. A big legal fight looms, but first comes the initial reaction. First up: George Conway, husband of Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, thinks the president made a big mistake by saying, "I didn't need to do this" during his Rose Garden speech. "This quote should be the first sentence of the first paragraph of every complaint filed this afternoon," he tweeted. Trump's full quote: "I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn't need to do this. But I'd rather do it much faster." (Watch the clip here.) More reaction, to that quote and the declaration in general:

  • Agreed: At Hot Air, Allahpundit agrees with Conway. "We don’t need to get into why this is a damaging thing for him to admit, right? We all graduated from fourth grade." Trump just handed the courts a factual basis to rule against him on the grounds that an emergency doesn't actually exist, writes Allahpundit.
  • Not so fast: Philip Klein of the Washington Examiner writes that he's skeptical the "I didn't need to do this quote" is the bombshell people are suggesting it is. "In fact, it could even do the opposite— bc obvious counter is he wanted to do faster bc he thought it was a pressing emergency," he tweets.

  • Democrats' miscalculation? An analysis by Noah Feldman at Bloomberg suggests Democrats may have strengthened Trump's case by agreeing to provide $1.4 billion for the border. That was far less that Trump wanted, prompting him to declare the emergency, but Feldman argues that by providing even the $1.4 billion, Trump can argue in court that Democrats agree with him the border needs strengthening and that "his re-allocation of funds is necessary to achieve Congress’s expressed will."
  • The polls: Stats expert Nate Silvers thinks Trump is courting trouble in the polls. "Indeed, the act of declaring a national emergency to build a wall is even more unpopular than the wall itself—and the wall isn’t popular," he writes at FiveThirtyEight. "Polls as tracked by PollingReport.com show an average of 32 percent of Americans in favor of the declaration and 65 percent opposed. Even in an era where many of Trump’s top priorities poll only in the low-to-mid-40s, that’s an especially large split, with roughly twice as many voters opposed as in favor."
  • New York Times: An editorial says Trump has just taken "executive overreach to dizzying new heights." Migrants at the border are not an emergency, say the editors. "This administration is forever coming up with creative new ways to disturb and dismay the nation. Mr. Trump’s eagerness to undermine the Constitution to serve his short-term political gain remains among the most outrageous."
  • Wall Street Journal: The conservative editorial page is not on board with the move. "The emergency declaration will please his most ardent supporters, but Mr. Trump is setting an unfortunate precedent—and judges could tie up his wall in court for years."
  • Washington Post: Its editorial on the subject is more angry at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for going along with Trump as the president treats the Constitution with "cavalier contempt." With his move, "Trump will inaugurate a new, imperial phase of his presidency," the editors write. "Mr. McConnell, who had previously warned him against such an action, will show he has perfected a trick: roll over and play dead."
  • Ann Coulter: Often seen as the voice of Trump's conservative base, Coulter is not happy with the day's news. Coulter backs tougher immigration moves, but she thinks Trump caved by signing the separate spending bill even though it didn't have the money the president wanted. The "goal of a national emergency is for Trump to scam the stupidest people in his base for 2 more years," she tweeted.
(More President Trump stories.)

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