Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) said President Donald Trump causing a government shutdown over funding for a wall on the U.S. Mexico border is “juvenile.”
Corker said, “This is a purposely contrived fight over, at the end of the day no matter who wins, our borders are still going to be insecure. I think you know that back in 2013, John Hogan and I crafted a border security amendment that passed with 69 votes in the Senate where Republicans were in the minority. I’m a junior senator from Tennessee, and 69 people voted for $46 billion to secure our border. It was overly prescriptive, and it was overkill, but our borders would have been secure. Not long ago, just a few months ago, the president could have received $25 billion in border security just by dealing with the DREAMers which, by the way, most Republicans want to deal with the DREAMers issue. We had $25 billion that could have been spent on now the government is shut down over what ultimately is going to be $2 billion. This is a made-up fight so that the president can look like he’s fighting. Even if he wins, our borders are going to be insecure.”
He continued, “Part of it is because of what we’re spending the money on. We have all kinds of technology, as you know, that we can use to secure the borders. $46 billion did include 700 miles of fencing, which is important, but there are all kinds of technology that we use in Iraq and Afghanistan to secure our borders. It’s not like going to the about Pentagon and saying we need to buy fighters, stealth fighters and they’re supersonic and have precision guided missiles but let’s use the Wright brothers. It’s not just about the money. It’s about what we’re spending it on. We can secure our borders. We can solve this problem. This is a made-up fight.”
He added, “This is something that is unnecessary. It’s a spectacle and, candidly, it’s juvenile. The whole thing is juvenile.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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