In Arizona, Donald Trump Sounds Familiar Notes On NAFTA And The Border Wall

The president attacked NAFTA, threatened a government shutdown if his border wall isn’t funded and built and stirred further controversy over his response to the events in Charlottesville during his rally Tuesday.

By Jill AmentAugust 23, 2017 12:44 pm, , ,

At his rally in Phoenix, Arizona, Tuesday, President Donald Trump had a lot to say about how the press and the public interpreted his comments following the white nationalist march in Charlottesville this month. But he also addressed familiar policy topics of interest to Texans, including his continuing skepticism of NAFTA, and a desire to see the border wall built, even if it means shutting down the government to force lawmakers to act.

Trump said that though his administration would proceed with renegotiating NAFTA, he doubted the U.S., Mexico and Canada could reach an agreement. Both Texas senators, along with many state lawmakers, support renegotiating NAFTA, and stress its importance to the U.S. economy.

Todd Gillman, Washington bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News, says Trump’s harsh words about NAFTA are likely a tactic intended to give the U.S. leverage during negotiations.

Gillman says a government shutdown over the border wall isn’t likely. He says the president does not have support, even among his own party, for moving ahead with the costly project.

“In Congress, it’s pretty hard to find anyone, no matter how hard a hard-liner they are on immigration, who thinks that a massive structure across even the vast majority of the U.S.-Mexico frontier is anything but a boondoggle,” Gillman says.

 

Written by Shelly Brisbin.