On Monday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned his fellow congressional Republicans not to thwart President Trump if he declares a national emergency to build his border wall using funds earmarked by Congress for other uses. "To every Republican, if you don't stand behind this president, we're not going to stand behind you, when it comes to the wall," he said in a speech in Greenville, South Carolina. "This is the defining moment of his presidency. It's not just about a wall, it's about him being treated different than every other president." The wall could spark a "war within the Republican Party," Graham added. "This is about us as a party."
Republicans have privately warned Trump against declaring a national emergency, and they are doing so publicly, too. In 2016, Trump told Bob Woodward that "real power is — I don't even want to use the word — fear." And Trump has used fear as a governing tactic like no president since Richard Nixon, Michael Tackett and Maggie Haberman write at The New York Times. "But as his presidency enters its third year, a less convenient truth is emerging: Few outside the Republican Party are afraid of him, and they may be less intimidated after the disastrous government shutdown."
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