Ann Coulter and Trump trade Twitter blows in regard to state of emergency

Trump said in a Rose Garden speech this morning that he did not and does not take Coulter's views into account when making his political decisions.

By ZACHARY KEYSER
Updated: FEBRUARY 17, 2019 17:35
Controversial right-wing political pundit Ann Coulter (photo credit: REUTERS)
Controversial right-wing political pundit Ann Coulter
(photo credit: REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump and right-wing personality Ann Coulter traded blows Friday on Twitter about Trump’s decision to declare a state of emergency in order to fund his promised wall at the US-Mexico border.
Trump said in a Rose Garden speech that he does not take Coulter’s views into account when making political decisions.

“I haven’t spoken to her. I don’t follow her. I don’t talk to her. But the press loves to bring up the name Ann Coulter,” Trump told reporters after announcing that he was declaring a national emergency. “And you know, I think she’s fine. I think she’s good, but I just don’t speak to her.”
On Friday, Trump declared a national emergency in order to fund the wall without needing to obtain congressional approval, an action Democrats vowed to challenge as a violation of the US Constitution.
Coulter was a supporter of Trump early in his presidency, but has recently become one of his harshest critics for his ineffectiveness in securing money for the wall, restraints surrounding the bill authorizing its construction, and the emergency declaration in relation to the project.
“The goal of a national emergency is for Trump to scam the stupidest people in his base for 2 more years,” Coulter tweeted on Friday. “[The] goal is to get Trump’s stupidest voters to say ‘HE’S FIGHTING!’ No he’s not. If he signs this bill, it’s over.”

The argument started when NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell asked Trump which conservative voices helped shape his political views on the border wall.

Stay updated with the latest news!

Subscribe to The Jerusalem Post Newsletter

Subscribe Now
Trump praised right-wing commentators such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. He said, however, that he had not spoken to Coulter in more than a year, adding that right-wing personalities “don’t decide policy.”
“Probably, if I did speak to her, she would be very nice. But I just don’t have time to speak to her. I have nothing against her. In fact, I like her for one reason. When they asked her right at the beginning who is going to win the election, she said, ‘Donald Trump.’ And the two people that asked her that question smiled. They said, ‘You’re kidding, aren’t you?’ ‘Nope, Donald Trump.’ So I like her,” Trump explained.
He later said Coulter was “off the reservation, but anybody that knows her understands that.”
Coulter lashed back, saying, “[Trump] seems to think ‘the reservation’ is him, not his campaign promises. THANK YOU, Mr. President for admitting that your total capitulation on campaign promises has nothing to do with me.”

Speaking later on KABC radio, Coulter said, “The only national emergency is that our president is an idiot.”