President Donald Trump promised that his administration was going to build a border wall and Mexico would pay for it.
But Trump’s desired wall is no closer to becoming a reality as the midway point of the president’s scheduled four-year term approaches.
After threatening last week to shut down the government unless Trump got funding for his wall, the White House reportedly backed off of this demand on Tuesday.
Late Wednesday night, the Senate passed a continuing resolution — which was introduced by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) — to fund the government through February.
The conservative ecosystem is finding different ways to work through the news that the government may remain open without appropriating additional funding for Trump’s border wall.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) — who wanted to replace John Kelly as White House chief of staff — opted for political threats, warning Trump that caving on wall funding will cause his “base will go crazy” and endanger his re-election chances.
Freedom Caucus Ldr Meadows says the “political fallout” of Trump signing a spending bill without a wall “will start Saturday.” Says if Trump signs the bill there will be “major damage” to his re-election in 2020
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) December 20, 2018
Rush Limbaugh reacted to the president “getting ready to cave” on the wall by claiming “Trump gets nothing and the Democrats get everything.”
Former prominent right-wing talking head Ann Coulter referred to Trump as a “gutless president.”
NEW COLUMN IS POSTED! GUTLESS PRESIDENT IN WALL-LESS COUNTRY https://t.co/yOTZERmTfX
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) December 19, 2018
A few hours after Coulter’s tweet, Trump Alert — an account that tracks the Trumps’ Twitter activity so the rest of us don’t have to — provided an update.
realDonaldTrump appears to no longer follow @AnnCoulter. (This bot cannot tell if this was an unfollow, suspension or block.)
— Trump Alert (@TrumpsAlert) December 20, 2018
Fox & Friends, Trump’s favorite morning TV show, was somber about the “stunning turn of events” on Wednesday.
A three-minute segment included comments like “he loses and the Democrats will win everything they want,” “Republican leadership let him down,” and acceptance that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “was right” about Trump not having the necessary votes to fund his proposed border wall.
Later on Wednesday, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway was admonished by a Fox News panel, which noted that Trump “has no leverage” and asked why the president “seems to be softening his stance.”
Lou Dobbs took a different route on Tuesday night. Along with Ed Rollins, a member of former President Ronald Reagan‘s administration, the Fox Business host blamed congressional Republicans who are “missing in action” after last month’s midterm elections, acknowledged that “Pelosi was right,” and made jokes about House Speaker Paul Ryan‘s (R-WI) non-existent Netflix deal — an apparent reference to the Wisconsin Republican’s six-part series of self-congratulatory tweets.
Elsewhere, a Trump-supporting Air Force veteran launched a GoFundMe campaign called “We the People Will Fund the Wall” that aims to raise $5 billion to give to Trump.
At least one GOP lawmaker appears to be open to this tactic. During an appearance on NPR last week, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) suggested the wall could be funded not by Mexico, but a “crowdfunding site” or “blockchain” or “wall coins.”
Trump has tried to change the conversation by claiming his proposal is not necessarily to build a wall, but to construct “artistically designed steel slats.”
The Democrats, are saying loud and clear that they do not want to build a Concrete Wall – but we are not building a Concrete Wall, we are building artistically designed steel slats, so that you can easily see through it….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
The president also tweeted that Mexico would really be paying for the wall through the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Mexico is paying (indirectly) for the Wall through the new USMCA, the replacement for NAFTA! Far more money coming to the U.S. Because of the tremendous dangers at the Border, including large scale criminal and drug inflow, the United States Military will build the Wall!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2018
Forbes has explained why the USMCA would come nowhere close to funding Trump’s wall even if it passes Congress, which remains uncertain.
CNN reported on Wednesday that the president is “starting to be irritated by criticism he’s abandoning his signature campaign promise to build a border wall.”