House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is still throwing shade at President Donald Trump’s southern border wall, painting it as nothing more than than a cheap campaign promise.
“We’re not talking about funding a wall, we’re talking about funding a campaign applause line,” she said during a talk at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., on Friday with the organization’s president, David Rubenstein.
Pelosi has been a staunch opponent of Trump’s efforts to gain additional funding for the U.S.-Mexico barrier, having stood firm against his demands for some $5.7 billion amid a historically long 35-day government shutdown that ended in January.
“There was nothing serious, scientific, evidence-based that a wall was what was going to be the best way to secure our borders,” she added. “We all are there to secure our borders. We take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, the American people, our country, and we honor that.”
Furthering her point, the congresswoman noted that the majority of trade, immigration and tourism between both countries occurs at legal ports of entry, stressing that a wall “is not the way that we relate to other countries, other people.”
In retaliation for Congress’ decision to appropriate only $1.375 billion for border security, Trump declared a national emergency last month in an attempt to access more money. That declaration is currently being challenged in multiple lawsuits, including one by California and 15 other states arguing it is unconstitutional.