Trump Threatens to Close Southern Border, End Aid to Central America if Wall Isn't Built

By Tyler Durden  /  ZeroHedge

Congress has departed for the holidays and it’s looking as if striking a deal and passing a bill to end the partial government shut down won’t happen until Congress reconvenes in the new year (and with both sides digging in their heels, many Wall Street analysts expect the affected government agencies will remain closed for at least a little while longer). But that didn’t stop President Trump from reviving his threat to close the southern border if Democrats don’t sign off on the $5 billion Trump needs to ramp up construction of his promised 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

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!

4:16 AM – Dec 28, 2018

And since the US loses so much money on trade with Mexico under Nafta rules, Trump says, he would consider closing the border to be a “profit-making operation”…

Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump

….The United States looses soooo much money on Trade with Mexico under NAFTA, over 75 Billion Dollars a year (not including Drug Money which would be many times that amount), that I would consider closing the Southern Border a “profit making operation.” We build a Wall or…..

4:42 AM – Dec 28, 2018

…That would help revive the US car industry.

Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump

…..close the Southern Border. Bring our car industry back into the United States where it belongs. Go back to pre-NAFTA, before so many of our companies and jobs were so foolishly sent to Mexico. Either we build (finish) the Wall or we close the Border……

4:49 AM – Dec 28, 2018

Trump ended his tweetstorm by warning that Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador were “doing nothing for the United States but taking our money” and that they had failed to stop a new caravan from forming. Because of this “we will be cutting off all aid to these 3 countries”, essentially combining all of his worst border-related threats.

Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump

…..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!

5:06 AM – Dec 28, 2018

Trump first threatened to send in the military and close the border earlier this year, warning that if Congress wouldn’t act to prevent caravans of migrants heading north from Central America from successfully crossing into the US, that he would do so unilaterally. He eventually followed through with the first part of that threat (though he also threatened to withhold aide from Honduras and other central American countries if they failed to stop the caravans, which…well).

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-28/trump-threatens-close-southern-border-if-dems-dont-cave-wall-funding

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