Rep. Gerry Connolly on Friday warned President Trump that following through on a threat to close the southern border would be a disaster — both economically and politically.
“I think the president lives in this delusional world fed by Fox News and a couple of right-wing talking heads and does not connect actions with consequences,” Mr. Connelly, a Virginia Democrat who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on CNN.
“If you close the border you are going to reinvite huge swings in the stock market, you are going to jeopardize the economic progress we’ve made, and you’re frankly going to do a lot of damage to your own prospects for 2020 by inviting a recession,” he said.
Mr. Trump made the threat in a tweet, saying he would close the entire border with Mexico if Democrats do not relent in the standoff over border security funding. The standoff resulted in a partial government shutdown, now in its seventh day.
With both sides dug in to their opposing positions, the shutdown was set to extend into next week when a new Congress with a new House Democratic majority will be sworn in.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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