Trump ramps up Mexico wall row with speech, border visit

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U.S. President Donald Trump pushed on Monday for a climax in his fight over a controversial U.S.-Mexico border wall, announcing a primetime speech and a rare visit to the frontier.

Trump's plans for a national address at 9.00 p.m. on Tuesday local time and a trip to the actual border on Thursday signal he wants to force an end to the impasse with congressional Democrats refusing to fund his wall project.

Screenshot of U.S. President Donald Trump's tweet. /CGTN Photo

The events, giving Trump the national stage against two very different backdrops, give him a chance to try to seize the narrative.

Those powers would, in theory, allow Trump to seek alternative funding for the wall and possibly free him to reopen parts of the federal government shutdown as part of his row with Congress.

However, opponents would almost certainly accuse him of presidential overreach and respond with court challenges.

So far, the White House has given no heads up regarding the details of Trump's message.

Trump simply tweeted that his address from the Oval Office on Tuesday will cover "the Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border."

Screenshot of Sarah Sanders's tweet. /CGTN Photo

Thursday's trip, his spokesperson Sarah Sanders said, will be to "the frontlines of the national security and humanitarian crisis." The exact destination was not made public.

Jerry Nadler, a Democrat in the House of Representatives, scornfully predicted: "I expect the president to lie to the American people."

The trip will be the first time Trump leaves the capital since the partial government shutdown took effect on December 22. Trump has demanded 5.6 billion U.S. dollars in the 2019 budget for building a wall along the border with Mexico to keep out what he said are illegal migrants and drug traffickers.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters