Pelosi, Schumer slam Trump for using Oval Office to ‘stoke fear’

“Sadly, much of what we have heard from President Trump throughout this senseless shutdown has been full of misinformation and even malice,” said Pelosi, who spoke first. “The president has chosen fear. We want to start with the facts.”

 

Schumer echoed her while knocking Trump for using the Oval Office to make his pitch for the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

 

Schumer added that “the symbol of America should be the Statue of Liberty, not a 30-foot wall.”

Trump used the prime-time speech to make his pitch for the border wall, while largely sticking to talking points he has used since the shutdown started late last month. 

 

He argued the country is facing a “growing humanitarian and security crisis” at the southern border, calling the current stalemate “a choice between right and wrong, between justice and injustice.” 
 
The dueling speeches come as the funding fight is stalemated over funding for the wall. Trump, during his speech, reiterated that he wants more than $5 billion — an amount that can’t get 60 votes in the Senate or pass the House. 

Democrats, however, used their rebuttal to tout the package passed by the House that would separate the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fight from the rest of the departments and agencies impacted by the shutdown fight. 

Pelosi accused Trump of rejecting the House package because of his “obsession” with building the wall, which was a key campaign promise for the president. 

Schumer added that the House measure would allow Congress to reopen most of the federal government and continue to fight over border funding. The House measures include funding through Sept. 30 for most of the impacted parts of the federal government, while funding DHS through Feb. 8. 

“We don’t govern by temper tantrum. No president should pound the table and demand he gets his way or else the government shuts down, hurting millions of Americans who are treated as leverage,” Schumer said. 

Trump sought to blame Democrats during his speech from the Oval Office, saying the government was shut down for “one reason only” — because Democrats wouldn’t fund border security.

And he called out Schumer by name, suggesting the Senate Democratic leader and his colleagues had previously supported border security but had “changed their mind” and were refusing to acknowledge the “crisis” at the border. Though he referenced Pelosi’s remark about the wall being “immoral,” he did not specifically call her out by name. 

 

Trump also sought to cast himself as willing to compromise with Democrats, and increase pressure on them to reopen the government, saying he offered to build a steel wall instead of a concrete barrier “at the request of the Democrats” — even though Democrats haven’t asked for a steel wall.