President Trump made his first address to the nation from the Oval Office Tuesday night. He spoke directly to the American people about the ongoing crisis at the southern border and touched on everything from national security to U.S. communities impacted by crime and drugs.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2019
Democrats have accused the President of over blowing the situation and manufacturing a crisis. But according to a new poll, there are plenty of Americans who believe the current situation is in fact a crisis. From POLITICO/Morning Consult:
According to the poll, conducted Jan. 4-6 among 1,989 registered voters, a 42-percent plurality think there is an illegal immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, which Trump has argued as he’s tried to leverage a partial government shutdown to secure congressional funding for his proposed southern border wall. Another 37 percent of voters said there’s a problem but not a crisis, and 12 percent said there’s neither a problem nor a crisis.
A further break down:
Meanwhile, President Trump is hosting Senate Republicans at the White House Wednesday as the stalemate with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer continues. The White House has repeatedly called on Congress to do its job to solve the ongoing crisis. Throughout the shutdown, Congressional Democrats have refused to meet with Trump administration officials and have sent staffers to do the job instead. Pelosi and Schumer maintain they will not come to the negotiating table until the government is reopened.