Donald Trump Insists He Never Promised Mexico Would Pay For Border Wall During Pop-Up Presser
President Donald Trump says he never promised Mexico would pay for his Border Wall.
Talking to reporters on the White House lawn as he headed out for Thursday’s photo at the Mexico border, Trump insisted Democrats do not care about gang members coming into this country and “cutting people up,” because that political party has been taken over by “young people” who are “crazy.”
Asked if the “buck stops with you” over the government shutdown he said on-camera he would take responsibility for in order to get his border wall funded by Congress, Trump shot back “The Buck Stops With Everybody,” giving presidential historians the vapors.
Trump blamed the reporters on the lawn for perpetrating a lie that he had campaigned on a promise Mexico would literally pay for his Border Wall.
“I know the Fake News likes to say it when during the campaign I would say Mexico is going to pay for it. Obviously I never said this,” Trump declared, defining most of the crowd to which he was speaking to be that Fake News, and crowning NBC the worst of the lot.
“I never meant they’re going to write out a check,” Trump insisted stoutly.
“I said they are going to pay for it. They are, they are paying for it with the incredible deal we made called the United States Mexico and Canada – USMCA – deal.”
He finally acknowledged that deal has to be approved by Congress but assured, “it probably will be, other than maybe [Dems] hold that up, because they want to do as much harm as they can, only because of the 2020 election.”
“So, Mexico is paying for the wall, indirectly.”
Should Dems hold up they money, “I have absolute right to declare a national emergency. The lawyers have so advised me.”
“If we don’t make a deal, I would say 100%, but i don’t want to say 100% because maybe something else comes up,” Trump rambled.
“If we don’t make a deal, it would be very surprising to me that I would not declare a national emergency and just fund it.”
After saying he had to “get a win” or would declare a national emergency to get funding for his Wall, Trump added he’s “okay with compromise.”
“Compromise is in my vocabulary very strongly,” he added, giving Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh something to talk about.
But, trying to negotiate with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi is harder than negotiating with China, Trump said, calling Schumer and Pelosi less honorable than China, a country with a long history of human rights abuses, stealing U.S. intellectual property, etc.
Trump also accused the press of misrepresenting Wednesday’s briefest of meetings with Democrats in which it was reported he’d asked House Speaker Pelosi if he reopened the government would she give him border wall funding. He walked out, saying “bye bye” when she said she would not.
‘I didn’t pound the table; I did not raise my voice. That’s a lie,” he said, suggesting reporters “ask Mike Pence.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer lied when he said POTUS had a temper tantrum at the meeting.
“You guys report it anyway, because you’re fake news.” He confirmed he said if Dems would not fund his wall “bye bye” and left.
Tiring of the topic, a reporter asked Trump if he had been aware his campaign chair Paul Manafort shared polling data with Russians during the campaign, which came to light this week when Manafort’s lawyers forgot to redact that info from documents in the Robert Mueller investigation.
“No, I did not know anything about it,” Trump responded.
Then he got asked for his reaction to National Enquirer’s report Washington Post owner/Amazon chief Jeff Bezos had tweeted he and his wife are divorcing after the Enquirer caught Bezos canoodling someone else’s wife.
“I wish him luck!” Trump grinned. “It’s going to be a beauty.”
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