Pelosi, Others Seize on Trump Saying ‘I Didn’t Need to’ Declare Emergency: ‘He Admits it’s a #FakeTrumpEmergency’
President Donald Trump is catching flak from politcal Twitter again, this time for how he might’ve undercut his own legal standing while declaring a national emergency relating to what he’s deemed a crisis on the southern border.
Trump declared an emergency on Friday, confirming he will draw federal funding from various areas of the government to compensate for getting only a fraction of the money he sought for the border wall from Congress. The president took a series of question on his decision, and one of the most interesting moments happened when he told NBC’s Peter Alexander “I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster.”
Trump, responding to my question, concedes there’s no national emergency to justify building his wall: “I didn’t need to do this… I just want to do it faster.”
That answer will complicate his legal case.— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) February 15, 2019
Shortly after Trump’s comment, numerous political observers picked up on it, and noted how Trump just admitted he did this for political reasons more than anything. As such, many believe Trump’s comments will be quite relevant once his emergency is challenged in court.
Here’s what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had to say:
He admits it's a #FakeTrumpEmergency. Hear him say it: "I *didn’t need* to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster." pic.twitter.com/e92ArhFQB7
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) February 15, 2019
“I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather to do it much faster.” —President @realDonaldTrump
Mr. President, how can this possibly be an national emergency if you’re saying you don’t need to do it?
Unreal. #FakeTrumpEmergency
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 15, 2019
Here’s the reaction from the Republican Party’s favorite Congressional freshman: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
“I didn’t need to do this” is admitting this isn’t an emergency at all.
“I didn’t need to do this” means he’s faking a crisis. https://t.co/TVqp0z4EHI
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 15, 2019
And here’s the takeaway from many other political observers in general:
ACLU lawyers: “Say the line, Mister President!” pic.twitter.com/X70xUFMMCC
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) February 15, 2019
Trump, questioned by @PeterAlexander, concedes there’s no national emergency to justify building his wall. “I didn’t need to do this.” “I just want to do it faster.” A gift to all the lawyers preparing to sue him.
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) February 15, 2019
Face. Palm. https://t.co/MGQ2V2T40H
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) February 15, 2019
Trump just said; “I didn’t need to do this. But I’d rather do it much faster.”
Whatever a national emergency may be, that’s not it.
That quote is going right in the lawsuit. https://t.co/FzwS4xIaMw
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) February 15, 2019
Your honor, I would like to invoke the stable genius exemption https://t.co/NTN08K1J7Y
— Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) February 15, 2019
When Trump says "I didn't need to do this" #FakeNationalEmergency pic.twitter.com/y572Z31HGp
— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) February 15, 2019
Remember this when this national emergency declaration gets challenged in the courts:
"I didn't need to do this." https://t.co/Uie3rbRBrz
— Brian Latimer (@briskwalk) February 15, 2019
Trump just undercut his own case for a national emergency: "I didn't really need to do this, but I wanted to do it faster."
He admitted this is all political.
Congress should overturn this emergency declaration.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) February 15, 2019
This should be the headline of the story.
The news isn't the thing you already knew was going to happen. It's the admission you didn't expect the subject was going to make, in front of a live camera. https://t.co/RiclvYple6
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) February 15, 2019
As I watched Trump's bizarre performance this morning — his sing-song recitation about the courts, his paranoid allusions to media reporting about his ban, his weird "I didn't need to do this" concession that there's really no emergency — I kept thinking: 25th Amendment.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) February 15, 2019
"I didn't need to do this," Trump says of the national emergency. So is it an emergency?
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) February 15, 2019
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