If the US Congress does not pass a funding bill including $5.7 billion for a steel border wall – or come to some other unspecified compromise – President Donald Trump will declare a national emergency. He will then build the wall with other available funding, he says.

In a brief skirmish with reporters before a helicopter tour of the southern border on Friday, President Trump said that his meeting with congressional leaders ended in a stalemate. This had followed his Oval Office address later in the week.

If the government shutdown that has been on-going since 22 December continues, he will have little choice but to declare a national emergency, President Trump says.

“I have the absolute right to declare a national emergency. The lawyers have so advised me. I’m not prepared to do that yet. But if I have to, I will,” President Trump says. “I have no doubt about it; I will. I have the absolute right to declare.”

President Trump also clarified his campaign statements regarding Mexico’s alleged funding of the wall, Kallanish notes.

“Just a couple of things, because I know the fake news likes to say it,” he says. “During the campaign, I would say, ‘Mexico is going to pay for it.’ Obviously, I never said this and I never meant they’re going to write out a check. I said, ‘They’re going to pay for it.’ They are. They are paying for it with the incredible deal we made, called the United States-Mexico-Canada – USMCA – Deal.”

The USMCA is as yet unapproved by Congress, but President Trump expresses confidence that the deal will be concluded soon.

“It has to be approved by Congress. It probably will be, other than maybe they (Democrats) even hold that up because they want to have - you know, they want to do as much harm as they can, only because of the 2020 presidential election.”