Trump addresses the nation, Democrats respond

President Trump on Tuesday put the onus of an 18-day partial government shutdown on Democrats, saying the matter could be easily resolved if his political opponents cede to his demands on border funding.

Democrats have expressed support for border security steps like enhanced technology, but have refused to provide support for a border barrier.

Trump said he would resume talks with Democrats on Wednesday.

"This situation could be resolved in a 45 minute meeting," he said. "I have invited congressional leadership to the White House tomorrow to get this done."

President Trump said, “All Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal immigration.”

It’s very difficult to know exactly how much or little undocumented immigrants cost the United States. Many experts contest the notion that undocumented immigrants are a strain on the economy. A 2017 analysis noted that undocumented immigrants “make considerable tax contributions,” for example.

Similarly, a 2018 study by the libertarian Cato Institute, which reviewed criminal conviction data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, found that immigrants—legal or illegally—are less likely than native-born Americans to be convicted of a crime. Throughout the country, there is also generally a decrease in the number of violent crimes, according to the FBI.

President Trump opened his first Oval Office address to the nation warning of "a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border," one that most experts say is at odds with facts.

The immigration matter, Trump said, is "a crisis of the heart, a crisis of the soul." 

Speaking from behind the Resolute Desk, Trump said the US could no longer accommodate immigrants who enter the country illegally.

"All Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal migration," Trump said "It strains public resources and drives down jobs and wages."

President Trump is speaking from the Oval Office.

Here's his opening line:

President Donald Trump will declare to an American television audience Tuesday there is a crisis at the US southern border and that a wall is the best and only remedy -- an exceptional step, at odds with facts, to fulfill his central campaign promise.

After weeks of a partial government shutdown, Trump and his negotiators have made little headway in convincing Democrats a barrier is needed before agencies can reopen and federal workers can begin receiving paychecks again.

The administration has steadfastly refused to take steps that would restore funding to some agencies, believing the shutdown is its best leverage to secure the wall funds. Fearing he could lose a messaging battle as more Americans feel the pain of a shuttered government, Trump will escalate his warnings that the country is unsafe without the border wall he promised as a candidate.

In making his case, Trump is turning for the first time to one of the most recognizable symbols of the American presidency -- an eight-minute direct-to-camera evening address from the Oval Office. He will continue his push in the following days, meeting with Republican senators during their weekly lunch on Wednesday. On Thursday he'll pay a visit to the Texas border town of McAllen. Trump, however, will address Americans suffering a credibility lapse after he and his aides have repeated multiple false claims about immigration.

Keep reading.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer just tweeted a montage of President Trump telling supporters Mexico will pay for the border wall, minutes before the President is due to give an Oval Office address to the nation appealing for taxpayer funds to build that wall.

See it:

President Trump has been working the phones and asking for advice from friends and aides in recent days about whether he should declare an emergency at the border in order to secure funding for his wall, a source close to the President said.

Here's what they're telling them: Trump has been told by several of his allies and advisers that declaration "probably won't work" from a legal standpoint, the source said. This doesn't mean he's closed the door to the possibility but this is the feedback he's received. Trump is urgently looking for a political win to sell to his base as he has become increasingly concerned about the Mueller report, the source added.  

A separate source and adviser to Trump said the President has been receiving advice telling him he should declare that state of emergency so he has something to sell to his base. If it goes to the courts, Trump can say he tried. 

This adviser put the stakes for Trump in very stark terms: If he doesn't get his wall, this adviser said, "it will absolutely be something that we have to deal with in the reelection." The adviser said Trump runs the risk of projecting weakness to his base should he fail in securing the funding for his wall. "At some point you're either a chief executive or not."

President Trump will urge Democrats to come back to the negotiating table to reopen the government and address the “crisis” at the border in his prime-time speech tonight, according to a GOP source familiar with the address.

Trump is expected to address the nation at 9 p.m. ET from the Oval Office.

President Trump is fundraising off tonight’s address to the nation.

The Trump campaign sent an email to his supporters this afternoon, asking to help raise $500,000 today.