President Donald Trump delivered a speech Tuesday night on the ongoing government shutdown and his demands for a border wall.
During a contentious 8-minute address, the president told a series of falsehoods, blamed immigrants for America’s drug crisis and portrayed Mexicans as murderers and criminals.
With the shutdown well into its third week, Trump is locked in a crisis of his own invention. He has insisted he won’t sign a bill to reopen the government unless it contains $5 billion in funding for his long-promised wall, but Democrats have remained steadfast in their opposition. The president has threatened a number of extreme measures to try to resolve the conflict including closing the border completely and declaring a national emergency.
Trump’s address aired on every major network at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Afterward, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) responded by saying that immigrants “are not a security threat, they’re a humanitarian challenge.” HuffPost is following the speeches live, sharing updates as well as fact-checking the president’s comments.