President Donald Trumps first prime-time address from the Oval Office was his opportunity to make a case for his border security plan. Instead, it highlighted just how little Trump understood the problems he hoped a border wall would fix economic costs, crime and drug trafficking and how desperate he is to blame Democrats for the government shutdown.
The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only, he said. Because Democrats will not fund border security.
But this is far from an accurate assessment of the shutdown. During negotiations aimed at avoiding a shutdown, Democrats offered to approve $1.3 billion to fund surveillance measures and fortified fencing directed at border security. Approval for funding was withheld for Trumps border wall.
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