Congressman Louie Gohmert (R- TX) defended President Donald Trump‘s decision to announce a shutdown deal without the funding he wanted for the border wall.
Gohmert appeared on Fox News this afternoon and Kristin Fisher asked if POTUS “caved” to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as some conservative commentators have said.
“No, I don’t think that he’s caved to Speaker Pelosi,” Gohmert responded. “This is round one of a, you know, 12-round bout, maybe 15. And this is a very strategic move on the president’s part.”
But at one point Fisher played comments Gohmert made on Fox News recently, in which he said Trump should keep the government closed “till hell freezes over.” And she again asked if he’s standing by Trump’s decision:
FISHER: I just want to be clear here. You are standing by President Trump’s decision yesterday to reopen the government without any wall funding.
GOHMERT: Well, this is a recess, it is not––yeah, I would have preferred that he just keep the… well, it’s the Democrats, they…
FISHER: You would have preferred if he just kept the government shut down?
GOHMERT: Well, yeah. Because––look, I was visiting with our border patrolmen, with TSA people, and they don’t want us––they can’t say it publicly––but they have said, “Look, we’re getting by.” Except for the VA, the Veterans Administration was screwing over TSA and other officials who were not getting paid. But everybody else was working with them, and they were saying, “Look, this is really hurting me, my family, but we know how badly we need a wall. If this is the sacrifice it takes to get a wall, then keep the government closed.”
You can watch above, via Fox News.
[image via screengrab]
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