Donald Trump declared a national emergency between rounds of golf on the taxpayer dime, a CNN pundit claimed.
Republican Ana Navarro, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, took to Twitter to criticize the president for his declaration of a national emergency over illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump was widely criticized for what critics say is an unprecedented step to declare a national emergency because of a lost legislative battle. He garnered even more criticism when he jetted away to his luxury Mar-a-Lago resort for a weekend of golf shortly after issuing the declaration.
“In case you’re keeping track, Trump squeezed in declaring a “national emergency” in between weekends playing golf in Florida….on taxpayers dime,” Navarro wrote.
Donald Trump’s frequent trips to Mar-a-Lago — and his even more frequent golf excursions — have drawn widespread criticism, as Trump had repeatedly claimed on the 2016 campaign trail that he would not have time to golf anymore if he became president. Trump also frequently slammed Barack Obama for going golfing, though he has not hit the golf course on a rate much higher than Obama.
As NBC News reported , Trump has spent nearly 30 percent of his time in office staying at his own properties, including 81 days at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump’s use of a national emergency declaration has sparked immediate backlash and will face a number of legal challenges. Critics say that Trump himself had repeatedly bragged about how much illegal immigration had gone down during his presidency, despite ramping up rhetoric about the dangers of illegal immigration as Democrats were taking control of Congress.
In case you’re keeping track, Trump squeezed in declaring a “national emergency” in between weekends playing golf in Florida….on taxpayers dime.
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) February 15, 2019
The New York Times noted that Trump also undercut his own argument in statements announcing the national emergency declaration, saying that it was not necessary and that he was only doing it so the border wall could be constructed more to his liking.
“I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster,” he said. “I just want to get it done faster, that’s all.”
Trump’s demand for a border wall sparked a record-long government shutdown spanning the end of 2018 and the beginning of this year. He had initially demanded $5.7 billion for funding and rejected an offer of $1.6 billion for border security. Trump ultimately accepted a deal that included even less funding — $1.375 billion.
Trump’s emergency declaration just got its first legal challenge. Legal advocacy group Public Citizen has filed suit on behalf of landowners in Texas and an environmental group. More lawsuits are expected. https://t.co/Uqx20Uxho9
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 16, 2019
Democrats and other critics also pointed out that Donald Trump frequently promised that he would make Mexico pay for the border wall. Trump has since backed off from that promise after Mexico’s president soundly rejected the idea.
