Brian Kilmeade Gives Reality Check on Trump Emergency Declaration: ‘That Would Be Bad’

As Donald Trump continues to mull the possibility of declaring a national emergency to fund his border wall, Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade dispatched that idea with brutal quickness.

On Wednesday morning’s edition of Fox & Friends, hours after Trump’s Oval Office address to whip up support for his border wall/fence/collection of artistic steel slats, co-host Steve Doocy noted “the most likely thing is he’s probably going to declare it’s going to be a national emergency. He did not mention that last night, but according to people close to him, that is the most likely option.”

“That would be, uh, bad,” Kilmeade flatly declared.

“Why?” asked a stunned Doocy.

“Next thing you know, there’ll be a Democrat in office, and they’ll say, ‘Well, climate change is a crisis, and here are the stats that show that temperatures are rising, and fish are dying,” Kilmeade replied, adding “I just think that will be another legal fight, and then nothing gets done as the courts mull this through.”

Setting aside Kilmeade’s understanding of the stakes involved in climate change, which extend beyond mild pescacide, his logic is otherwise unassailable. Such an emergency declaration would almost certainly face challenges in court, and would set a dangerous precedent for current and future presidents.

The fact that a strong supporter of Trump with no legal expertise whatsoever can destroy this idea in seven seconds flat is a sobering indictment of Trump’s willingness to even consider it. Politically speaking, even a failed emergency declaration that was later struck down in court would benefit Trump by allowing him to reopen the government while saving face.

But as Kilmeade pointed out, it would come at the cost of gambling the ability of the American people, through their representatives in Congress, to check the power of the presidency.

Watch the clip above, via Fox News.