Ann Coulter, right-wing commentator and author, has slammed Donald Trump for declaring a national emergency and signing a government spending bill that only allocates a small fraction of the money he requested for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. In a tweet that’s been shared thousands of times as of this writing, Coulter says that Trump is scamming “the stupidest people” in his base with the national emergency declaration.
“The goal is to get Trump’s stupidest voters to say ‘HE’S FIGHTING,’” Coulter wrote in a subsequent tweet. “No, he’s not. If he signs this bill, it’s over.”
Coulter is known for her polarizing conservative views and has been an ardent supporter of Trump’s proposed border wall. She has often been cited as one of the key pundits who influence Donald Trump’s policy decisions. Coulter seemed to be on the president’s side early on but recently criticized him for “caving” when he accepted Congress’ previous resolution to end the government shutdown without getting the funds for the wall.
As Politico reports, during his national emergency announcement on Friday, a reporter asked whether right-wing media personalities had swayed him. He replied by saying that they hadn’t and that he didn’t know Ann Coulter.
“They don’t decide policy. In fact, if I went opposite — they have somebody, Ann Coulter, I don’t know her,” he said. “I hardly know her. I haven’t spoken to her in way over a year. The press loved saying ‘Ann Coulter.’ Probably if I did speak to her, she’d be really nice. I just don’t have the time to speak to her.”
As Inquisitr previously reported, President Trump’s national emergency declaration means that he’ll be able to access federal money to build the wall that he first promised Mexico would pay for. It essentially permits him to funnel money from other government agencies into the project. Congress can retaliate but for that to happen, they’ll need a joint resolution from the House and Senate. They’ll also have to override his presidential veto.
President Trump’s national emergency can also be challenged in the courts. As CNBC reports, he may have already muddled his legal defense for the wall. On Friday, he told a reporter that he didn’t “need” to make the declaration, which undermines his previous descriptions of a humanitarian catastrophe on the southern border.
Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, leaders of the Democratic party in the House and Senate, have already vowed to stymie the declaration by every means available to them.
“The President is not above the law,” they said in a joint statement. “The Congress cannot let the President shred the Constitution.”
Trump says Ann Coulter is “off the reservation” after she rips him for signing funding bill https://t.co/YACxaWCH8v pic.twitter.com/bku8qtfM5t
— The Hill (@thehill) February 15, 2019
