Speaking in the Rose Garden on Friday, President Donald Trump cited “an invasion of our country with drugs, with human traffickers, with all types of criminals and gangs” to declare a national emergency to secure the necessary funding to complete a border wall.
CNN and NBC immediately set out to further the Democrat Party’s political narrative that there is no crisis on the southern border, as seen in the spirited Q&A that took place after the president spoke, but that’s of little surprise, given the networks’ track record. A more interesting exchange centered around what conservative voices helped shape Trump’s views on the issue.
Right-wing firebrand Ann Coulter, who went off on the president Thursday for appearing to accept the weak deal brokered between Republicans and Democrats, was mentioned by Trump, but not necessarily in a good way.
“Sean Hannity has been a terrific, terrific supporter of what I do,” the president said in response to the inquiry from NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell. “Not of me — if I change my views he wouldn’t be with me.”
“Rush Limbaugh, I think he’s a great guy,” Trump continued. “He can speak for three hours without a phone call, try doing that. He has one of the biggest audiences in the history of the world. This guy is unbelievable.”
When asked if Hannity and Limbaugh helped decide policy, Trump was adamant that they do not.
Having picked up on the political agenda behind the line of questioning, the president then mentioned Coulter by name.
“Ann Coulter, I don’t know here. I hardly know her. I haven’t spoken to her in way over a year,” Trump said. “But the press loves saying, ‘Ann Coulter.’”
“Probably if I did speak to her, she’d be very nice,” he continued. “I just don’t have the time to speak to her. I would speak to her. I have nothing against her. In fact, I like her for one reason. When they asked her right at the beginning, ‘Who’s going to win the election?’ She said, ‘Donald Trump.’ And the two people that asked her that question smiled. They said, ‘You’re kidding, aren’t you?’ Nope. Donald Trump. So I like her.”
After saying he liked Coulter, Trump was quick to cut his critics off at the pass.
“But she’s off the reservation,” Trump said. “But anybody that knows her understands that. But I haven’t spoken to her. I don’t follow her. I don’t talk to her.”
He would go on to add two other names, both from Fox News, which did nothing to help his cause with the liberal media.
“Laura has been great, Laura Ingraham. Tucker Carlson has been great,” the president said. “People get what we’re doing. They get it. They really get it. And I’m honored by it.”
Recent polling would suggest that this is a true statement.
Coulter has become downright hostile toward Trump on immigration, prompting him to say last month, “Maybe I didn’t return her phone call or something.”
With the media firmly aligned against the president on the issue and the support of weak-kneed moderate Republicans wavering at best, he held out for a better deal longer than many expected. Sadly, Congress is dysfunctional, incapable of acting outside of party interests to address this nation’s critical problems.
Meaning Coulter is misdirecting her anger.
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Tom@bizpacreview.com
The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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