A barrier on the border with Mexico is “absolutely essential” for US security. President Donald Trump affirms this by addressing the Americans from the Oval Office. The speeches from the Oval Office are the most official format that a president can use to address the country: the first to speak from the Oval Office was Harry Truman in 1947. President Trump insisted on funding for his long-promised US-Mexico border wall.

However, he did not declare an emergency that would enable him to bypass the lower house of Congress now controlled by the opposition Democrats. Democratic leaders accused him of holding the American people hostage. The Republican president wants $5.7bn (£4.5bn) to build a steel barrier, which would deliver on his signature campaign pledge. But Democrats – who recently took control of the House of Representatives – are adamantly opposed to giving him the funds. Democratic congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer immediately responded to Trump’s harrowing remarks, denouncing his dark language and again calling for the government to reopen.

Maria Elena Argano

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ANSA Website: http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/mondo/nordamerica/2019/01/09/trump-muro-a-a-confine-essenziale_31587822-b11c-4ec0-8305-ed21ad71b89e.html BBC Website: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-46805693/trump-mexico-to-pay-for-wall-indirectly-via-trade-deal