Donald Trump has said parts of the US federal government will remain closed until Democrats agree to put up more walls along the US-Mexico border to deter criminals.
By Darlene Superville, Associated Press
December 25 2018 11:55 PM
Donald Trump has said parts of the US federal government will remain closed until Democrats agree to put up more walls along the US-Mexico border to deter criminals.
In a Christmas Day appearance in the Oval Office, Mr Trump issued a lengthy defence of his desire for a wall, saying it is the only way to stop drugs and human traffickers from entering the US.
In a nod to the political stakes he’s facing, the president said he wants the wall by “election time” in 2020.
The promise of a border wall was a central component of Mr Trump’s presidential campaign.
I hope everyone, even the Fake News Media, is having a great Christmas! Our Country is doing very well. We are securing our Borders, making great new Trade Deals, and bringing our Troops Back Home. We are finally putting America First. MERRY CHRISTMAS! #MAGA
“I can’t tell you when the government’s going to be open. I can tell you it’s not going to be open until we have a wall or fence, whatever they’d like to call it,” Mr Trump said, referring to Democrats who staunchly oppose walling off the Mexican border.
“I’ll call it whatever they want, but it’s all the same thing,” he told reporters after participating in a holiday video conference with representatives from the five branches of the US military stationed in Alaska, Bahrain, Guam and Qatar.
Mr Trump argued that drug flows and human trafficking can only be stopped by a wall.
“We can’t do it without a barrier. We can’t do it without a wall,” he said. “The only way you’re going to do it is to have a physical barrier, meaning a wall.
