On February 14, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed that President Donald Trump will “sign the government funding bill, and as he has stated before, he will also take other executive action - including a national emergency” to build a wall on the southern border.
While Trump is following the playbook set by his Fox News advisers like Sean Hannity and Lou Dobbs, others in conservative media are concerned by the move. Their concern, however, stems not from the fact that declaring a national emergency in this case is likely illegal or an abuse of power, but rather from the concern that Trump is setting a precedent for a future Democratic president to declare a national emergency for issues like combating climate change or addressing gun violence. As Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade argued in January, declaring a national emergency “would be bad. Next thing you know, there'll be a Democrat in office, and they'll say, well, climate change is a national crisis, and here are the stats that show the temperatures are rising and fish are dying.”
Here are some of the right-wing media figures and other conservative commentators warning about the implications of Trump's move
The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro: “Trump shouldn't be declaring a national emergency. The best legal case he has is 10 USC 284, declaring parts of the border drug corridors. No need to set a garbage legal precedent that will undoubtedly be exploited by the Democrats in short order.”
NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch: “I don’t want this national emergency move to become the new Harry Reid’s filibuster reform.”
Loesch: “What if Democrats one day decide to say that climate change is a national emergency (they already have) but have the power to use executive action? Must be very, very careful here.”
CNN’s Doug Heye: “Make no mistake: the next Democratic President will declare national emergencies on guns and climate change and cite the Trump precedent when doing so.”
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh: “The courts will immediately shoot that down and the next Democratic president is certain to abuse the precedent. Great.”
Fox’s Jedediah Bila: Trump’s national emergency declaration “will fuel” similar actions to combat climate change, “and it won’t end there.”
Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe: “We will see how President Trump proceeds with this, but this makes it a whole lot easier for the next Democrat president to invoke a national emergency on guns, climate change, etc.”
The Resurgent's Erick Erickson: “The President should not declare an emergency just because he did not get his way with Congress. This is a terrible precedent.”
Townhall’s Guy Benson: It will be a “good precedent” if Trump’s emergency declaration is “rebuked by the courts” because Democrats may also use it.
One America News Network’s Liz Wheeler quoted MSNCB’s Chris Hayes’ tweet that “climate change really *is* a national emergency,” writing, “Exactly why a national emergency is not a wise move.”
CNN’s Matt Lewis: Trump declaring national emergency “is wrong. … It sets a dangerous precedent.”
Washington Examiner’s Philip Klein: “Emergency declaration is a dangerous, rash, reckless, and myopic decision that should be passionately opposed by all principled conservatives.”
Klein: “New post: ‘Trump declaring a national emergency to build border wall with McConnell's support will come back to haunt conservatives.’”
National Review’s Jim Geraghty: “If you debated declaring a national emergency for several months, then it wasn't really a national emergency.”
Washington Post columnist and Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen: “Declaring a national emergency would also be a mistake. Trump could face a rebellion within his own party, and rightly so. An emergency declaration is intended for actual emergencies — such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks or Hurricane Katrina.”
The Washington Examiner’s Jay Caruso: “All those cheering Trump declaring a national emergency (one doesn't exist, folks) to ‘build the wall’ will have a whole different outlook when President O'Rourke does the same thing.”
Political commentator and Republican strategist Rick Wilson: "Every one of you ‘conservatives’ gushing about the abuse of emergency powers owns it when a Democratic President declares a national emergency on Day 1. Whether it's on guns or abortion or climate or LGBT issues, you just remember, you wanted this to be how things go.”
Washington Examiner’s David Drucker: “1) Nat’l Emergency could get blocked in court. 2) Congress could rescind declaration under procedures that enable Dem House to initiate & force GOP Senate to vote (Trump could veto.) 3) Next Dem President will follow suit on myriad issues & Republicans will rue day.”
Commentary magazine’s Noah Rothman: “Every conservative needs to oppose this with every fiber of their being, or they will regret this moment for the rest of their lives.”
The Daily Wire’s Ashe Schow: “In the future, everything will be a national emergency.”
Hot Air’s Allahpundit: “Congrats to Dems on finding a legal way to implement the Green New Deal!”
RBPundit: “We have idiots celebrating short-sided nonsense that will backfire when Democrats take back power. Just. Fucking. Great.”