White House counselor Kellyanne Conway says there are two sides in the government shutdown debate — one which is trying to seriously negotiate and another that plays “silly semantic” games for political points.
During an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” for a segment on the ongoing government shutdown, Ms. Conway lamented when the discussion turned to the difference between “steel slats” and the “wall” along the southern border, calling the topic a mundane distraction to the broader issue at hand.
“It is a silly semantic argument because people who just want to say ’wall, wall, wall’ want it to be a four-letter word and not respect what Customs and Border Patrol and ICE tell us they need, which is enhancements at the border,” she said.
White House officials said Democrats have been unwilling to meaningfully negotiate on Mr. Trump’s $5.7 billion funding request.
“There may be a wall at some places, there may be steel slats, there may be technological enhancements,” Ms. Conway said. “Always saying ’wall’ or ’no wall’ is being very disingenuous and turning a complete blind eye to what is a crisis at the border when it comes to the drugs pouring in. You know, all the Fentanyl that ICE interdicted last year — enough to kill every man, woman, and child in this country — didn’t walk over the border by itself.”
Mr. Trump blasted Democrats again Monday for the shutdown, which began Dec. 21.
“It’s incredible how Democrats can all use their ridiculous sound bite and say that a Wall doesn’t work,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “It does, and properly built, almost 100%! They say it’s old technology — but so is the wheel. They now say it is immoral- but it is far more immoral for people to be dying!”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.