This morning, President Donald Trump once again ignited controversy when he took to Twitter and made an absurd threat to “entirely” close off the southern border unless he receives the funding he wants for his ill-conceived, deeply wasteful border wall.
We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with. Hard to believe there was a Congress & President who would approve!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2018
Whether or not the tweets were simply an example of his usual empty bluster or him legitimately considering a move that would devastate the American economy even more than he already has with his tariffs and regressive economic policies was unclear, but the threat alone is inexcusable.
Now, an outgoing Republican Congressman has weighed in on the tweets in scathing fashion. Rep. Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania, who announced last year that he would be retiring, appeared on MSNBC and spoke to host Hallie Jackson about Trump. Jackson asked him if he thought there was “any planet” in which the president would follow through on his threat to shut down the border.
“Boy, the planets look a lot different every single time he tweets,” Costello said, trying his best not to laugh. “I don’t even know how he does that and I can’t even interpret some of his tweets anymore. The tweet the other day was somehow the shutdown money was going to be used to fund the border wall. And I have no idea, on any planet what that means.”
Costello is correct that Trump’s tweets have grown more and more nonsensical as he unravels beneath the weight of his failing administration and the growing investigations into his corruption and criminality.
Jackson then brought up another one of Trump’s morning tweets, in which he threatened to cut off U.S. aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
…..Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are doing nothing for the United States but taking our money. Word is that a new Caravan is forming in Honduras and they are doing nothing about it. We will be cutting off all aid to these 3 countries – taking advantage of U.S. for years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2018
Jackson asked Costello if he thinks Americans should be worried about Trump’s rhetoric or if he believes that the public has simply ceased taking the president seriously. Costello didn’t hold back.
“I don’t think many people are taking the president seriously as it relates to immigration at the southern border. On a serious note, some of the actions that he’s taken in Syria and what he’s said he’s going to do, what he has done in Afghanistan, there are concerns related to our credibility and our consistency with our allies around the world and where we do provide aid,” said Costello.
The Republican Congressman should be commended for his blunt honesty, and the rest of his party has a responsibility to speak up as well. We are in a sad state of affairs indeed when the American people are stuck choosing between whether to fear what their president is saying or ignore it completely.
Watch below.