Reactions are percolating around America to President Trump's declaration of a national emergency—not the least of which comes from his political frenemy Ann Coulter, per USA Today. "The only national emergency is that our president is an idiot," she said Friday on KABC Radio in Los Angeles (audio here). She also showed appreciation for Trump pulling away from her: "Thank god he's relieved me any responsibility for what he's been doing," she said, adding, "That was the biggest favor anyone could do for me." Like some other conservatives, Coulter supports the border wall but opposes his signing a bipartisan budget deal with $1.375 billion for 55 miles of new border fences along the Texas border. "If he signs this bill, it's over," she tweeted.
- Conservative radio host Steve Deace echoed that in his own way, saying the declaration and the budget deal are diametrically opposed, per the BBC: "Horrible precedent to set that every time a president doesn't get appropriations they want they can declare this," he tweeted. "By caving on this, he's saying it's not an emergency."
- Other conservatives opposed it for other reasons: "No crisis justifies violating the Constitution," said Sen. Marco Rubio, per the Sun Daily, while Sen. John Cornyn said it "would not be a practical solution, because there would be a lawsuit filed immediately and the money would be presumably balled up."
- But Sen. Richard Shelby was among the supporters, saying Trump is "probably on pretty solid ground" legally. "If I were the president, I'm not, I would do what I thought was best regardless of what—as long as I had the legal authority."
- Democrats, meanwhile, are firing away. Among them is South Bend Mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg: "Climate change is a national emergency," he tweeted. "The absence of a wall is not."
- "Declaring a national emergency over this President's vanity project is ridiculous," tweeted California Senator and 2020 candidate Kamala Harris. "We don't need a wall. Instead, we should address the actual emergencies facing our country—everything from gun violence to the opioid crisis."
- Referring to Trump's weekend visit to Florida, Sen. Brian Schatz tweeted: "Apparently this thing is such an emergency that it will immediately be followed by golf."
- As for Trump, he was characteristically all-capped: "BUILDING THE WALL!" he tweeted Saturday.
(Lawsuits are already coming in
opposing Trump's plan.)
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