Trump may be busy hosting Japan PM Shinzo Abe in Mar-A-Lago, as he tweeted moments ago…
Melania and I are hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Mrs. Abe at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. They are a wonderful couple!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2017
… but that did not prevent him from taking yet another jab at the US legal system, which he once again slammed in a Saturday morning, tweeted calling it “broken” and “dangerous”, addressing the now halted travel ban.
“Our legal system is broken! “77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries.” (WT) SO DANGEROUS!,” he said in a tweet shortly after 7am.
Our legal system is broken! “77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries.” (WT) SO DANGEROUS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2017
Trump was citing a report in the Washington Times according to which claims the State Department had doubled the rate of refugees it has accepted from the seven Muslim majority nations specified in the controversial travel ban since a Seattle judge temporarily halted the program last week. Critics quickly retorted to the tweet, saying that refugees from those 7 banned countries have never resulted in a death from terrorism on American soil.
The renewed attack on the US judicial system comes at an odd time, less than a day after the Trump administration conceded it would not escalate the adverse Appeals Court ruling to the Supreme Court, but would instead present a modified executive order in the coming days.
In further tweets, Trump also responded to a recently leaked Retuers report that the cost of his proposed border wall would be much higher than expected, insisting that it will “come WAY DOWN” after he is involved in negotiations.
“I am reading that the great border WALL will cost more than the government originally thought, but I have not gotten involved in the … design or negotiations yet. When I do, just like with the F-35 FighterJet or the Air Force One Program, price will come WAY DOWN!” Trump wrote in consecutive tweets.
I am reading that the great border WALL will cost more than the government originally thought, but I have not gotten involved in the…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2017
…design or negotiations yet. When I do, just like with the F-35 FighterJet or the Air Force One Program, price will come WAY DOWN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 11, 2017
Reuters reported last Thursday that the planned wall along the U.S.-Mexico border would cost as much as $21.6 billion, nearly double the $12 billion price tag that Trump has claimed in the past. The wall would actually be a series of fences and walls covering more than 1,250 miles by the end of 2020, the report said, citing internal Homeland Security Department figures.
In a follow up report from Reuters on Friday night, which may have prompted Trump’s tweet, the news agency reported that skepticism over Trump’s “wall” is mounting not only among Democrats but also Republicans. Republican Congressman Will Hurd – whose district spans 800 miles (1,290 km) of the Texas-Mexico border – on Friday criticized plans under consideration by the Trump administration to build walls and fences costing an estimated $21.6 billion to deter illegal immigration. “Building a wall is the most expensive and least effective way to secure the border,” Hurd, whose district includes El Paso, said in an email. He said his district includes rough terrain where “it is impossible to build a physical wall.” Hurd said he had seen estimates as high as $40 billion for the barrier’s construction, citing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study released in October.
Already many congressional Democrats reacted strongly to the news of plans for the wall and its estimated price. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a telephone interview that he welcomed the debate in his committee over funding the wall. “Instead of funding this costly and ineffective proxy for real action on immigration reform, we should be directing our resources toward finding cures for cancer, building schools for our children, feeding the hungry and rebuilding our bridges and our roads,” Leahy said.
Five Democratic senators on Friday wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly claiming that the money would be misspent. The letter was signed by Senators Kamala Harris of California, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Tom Udall of New Mexico, Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The senators wrote, “We are extraordinarily concerned that President Trump’s executive order appears to require that you divert DHS funds meant for critical security priorities to instead fund the border wall.”
