President Donald Trump will address the nation Tuesday night to discuss what he calls a “humanitarian and national security crisis on our Southern border.”
The president could declare it a national emergency to secure money for a border wall - a move that would curtail Congress on an issue that led to the partial government shutdown.
“This is a good bargaining position for the president,” says Dr.Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor University of Houston. “A lot of the scholarship on the subject shows that when presidents put down the gauntlet when it comes to unilateral power they may get a better deal from Congress than they could otherwise get.”
Rottinghaus says a prime time speech could sway public opinion and take back control of the conversation.
“With all the personnel changes and all the turnover, it's been too difficult for them to do that,” he says. “So this is something the president could solve if they really got in front of the issue,and it seems like they've got some plans in the works to make that happen so we'll see to the extent of which they can change the narrative.”
“The president has a big microphone and he's going to be able to direct a lot of media attention to his policy issues, so if he can use that successfully, then it could be the case that you start to see people side with him as opposed to the Democrats.”
That also goes for many Republicans who so far have criticized the shutdown.