a non-emergency emergency
Trump says he 'didn't need to' declare a national emergency but wanted to fund the wall 'faster'
President Trump on Friday sure didn't make his national emergency declaration sound like much of an emergency.
After announcing he would declare a national emergency and redirect federal funds for the border, Trump suggested he's doing so because it's the "faster" option.
"I could do the wall over a longer period of time," he said. "I didn't need to do this. But I would rather do it much faster."
These comments will almost certainly come up during any potential legal challenges to Trump's declaration, with Omar Jadwat, the director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, tweeting in response, "keep talking Mr. President." Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance called Trump's comment "a gift to all the lawyers preparing to sue him."
Trump himself predicted a legal battle, saying "we will then be sued" but will "hopefully" get a "fair shake" in the Supreme Court. Watch Trump's comments below. Brendan Morrow