BORDER/DEMS/IMMIGRATION/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “With a partial government shutdown looming, President Trump late Friday [12-21-18] called on Senate Democrats to approve funds for border security in a video recording posted to Twitter, in which he paired sweeping references to crime with incendiary footage of people moving in large crowds…The video, in which the president again tried to drive home the importance of building a border wall, was reminiscent of other times that he has stoked fears with messages that portrayed immigrants as a threat. He made the migrant caravan from Central America a central campaign issue during the midterm election, and this fall, major television networks — including Fox News — rejected an inflammatory ad by Mr. Trump’s political team. The ad, which featured footage of an undocumented Mexican immigrant bragging about murder and included ominous music followed by images of the caravan, was widely denounced as racist and misleading.”
–Sarah Mervosh, “Trump Stokes Fears in Pre-Shutdown Video, Declaring ‘We Need a Great Barrier’,” The New York Times online, December 21, 2018