As lawmakers race to reach an agreement to avert yet another government shutdown at the end of the week, the hosts of Fox & Friends broadcast a clear message for President Trump on Tuesday morning: Just take the deal!
The bipartisan agreement lawmakers tentatively reached Monday night includes $1.375 billion for about 50 miles of fencing along Texas’ border with Mexico—which Trump’s favorite TV hosts saw as a win.
“Keep in mind, Democrats didn’t want him to build one mile,” co-host Steve Doocy said.
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“So this is a big step, right?,” co-host Ainsley Earhardt responded.
The hosts shrugged off the fact that the proposed deal falls far short of the $5.7 billion Trump originally demanded for his wall, with Earhardt insisting it’s still a “good start.”
“This will fund the government through September, and then maybe he can get another 55 miles and another $1 billion-plus for the next phase,” she said at one point.
As of Tuesday morning, Trump has not yet decided whether he’ll support the deal, which doesn’t include the Democratic demand for a cap on the number immigrants apprehended in the U.S. The White House is reportedly waiting to review its full language before making a decision.
But the conservative morning hosts seemed to speak directly to the president Tuesday morning when they insisted he’ll probably take the deal—with a longer-term plan in mind.
“I think the president’s probably going to say, ‘You know what? I'm going to take that—that number right there, $1.4 billion for 55 miles of border wall,’ and then, I bet he’s got something up his sleeve,” Doocy said.
During a Monday night rally in El Paso, Texas, the president alluded to the tentative deal, but showed no signs of relenting on his demands for a fully funded border wall, a move that resulted in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history last time around.
“Just so you know, we’re building the wall anyway,” Trump insisted. “We’re setting the table, we’re doing whatever we have to do. The wall’s being built.”
To avoid another partial government shutdown, the potential funding deal would have to be written into legislation, pass both chambers of Congress, and get Trump’s approval before Friday night.
“I think the president forced the issue with the government shutdown, and now he sees some money,” Doocy said Tuesday, despite some indications that the president may stick to his original demands. “He’s going to take that money, he’s going to go along with the deal, and I don’t think he's going to declare a national emergency.”
He continued: “But, like I said, I don’t know what his Plan C is. But I think he’s got another way to legally reprogram some money.”
