'Not Medieval': Trump Responds To Bennet's Rant About Border Wall
WASHINGTON (CBS) — During a news conference announcing a deal to end the partial shutdown and temporarily reopen the government, President Donald Trump seemed to be making reference to some fiery comments Colorado's Democratic Senator Michael Bennet made about the proposed border wall.
Bennet erupted into a 20-minute rant on the Senate floor Thursday, in which he repeatedly described the border wall as "medieval."
"[President Trump] wants $5 billion to build some antiquated, medieval wall that he said Mexico would pay for. This is a joke," Bennet fumed.
"How ludicrous is it that this government was shut down over a promise the president of the United States couldn't keep and that America is not interested in having him keep?" Bennet continued. "This idea that he was going to build a medieval wall across the southern border of Texas, take it from the farmers and ranchers that were there, and have the Mexicans pay for it isn't true. That's why we're here. Because he's now saying the taxpayers have to pay for it. That's not what he said during his campaign."
Here's Bennet's full tirade:
On Friday, Trump stated the walls he wants to build are not "medieval" and that it would be a "smart wall."
"We do not need 2,000 miles of concrete wall from sea to shining sea," Mr. Trump said, although he has previously explicitly supported a concrete wall. He said that the wall he supports would be made of steel and see-through.
Bennet quickly responded on Twitter.
"[President Trump] if you don't like the word "medieval" to describe your wall, how about ineffective, wasteful, offensive, unpopular..." Bennet tweeted.
Related: Sen. Michael Bennet Rips Cruz's 'Crocodile Tears' Over Shutdown
The government shutdown reached its 35th day on Friday -- the longest in American history. Around 800,000 federal workers missed their second paycheck this week, with roughly half of them working without pay. Several workers in critical agencies have been calling out sick due to financial difficulties.
Flights in and out New York City's LaGuardia airport were delayed on Friday morning due to staffing shortages among air traffic controllers, according to a notice issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. Elsewhere, a flight was canceled due to a lack of sufficient TSA staff at the Monroe Louisiana airport Friday morning.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
