President Donald Trump on Sunday argued former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have a wall around their Washington D.C. home for security so the U.S. should have the same.
‘President and Mrs. Obama built/has a ten foot Wall around their D.C. mansion/compound. I agree, totally necessary for their safety and security. The U.S. needs the same thing, slightly larger version!,’ he tweeted.
The Obama home in the posh D.C. neighborhood of Kalorama had a wall built around it before they moved in as part of security upgrades put in by the Secret Service.
President Donald Trump on Sunday argued since the Obamas have a wall around their D.C. home the country should have a border wall
The wall was added to the home before the former first couple moved in as part of a security upgrade
The wall is a combination of brick pillars and steel posts; it’s height is unknown
Trump has been pushing for a border wall and is now using the Obamas to argue for one
Trump is in a fight with Democrats over funding his border wall
It’s unclear how tall the wall is around the home and it’s not all brick – it’s a combination of brick pillars and steel pillars.
The 8,200-square-foot home is blocked off to the public by concrete barriers, manned 24-7 by United States Secret Service officers.
Trump would be familiar with the home as his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner near live the Obamas – although their home has no wall.
The Obamas originally rented the 9 bedroom home but last June paid $8.1 million for it.
The Obamas said would stay in Washington while their youngest daughter, Sasha, completes high school at Sidwell Friends School, where she is in her junior year.
Other high-profile residents live in the neighborhood: former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos.
Trump has been pushing for his border wall amid an argument with Democrats over funding for it.
Negotiations to reopen it are at a stand still.
Trump has refused to accept a bill that does not include at least $2.5 billion for the border wall – down from his original demand of $5 billion – but Democrats have said they will not go above $1.3 billion they have already offered.
The stand off will last through the New Year and possibly until Democrats take control of the House of Representatives on Jan. 3.
The House and Senate gaveled in and out of session in under five minutes on Thursday. No votes are scheduled for either chamber.
A guard house was also added to the home, which the Obamas purchased last year
The house is in the posh D.C. neighborhood of Kalorama
A Secret Service SUV believed to be carrying former President Barack Obama departs the home last year
Women walk past a crew working on the construction of a fence before the Obamas moved in after his time in the White House was up
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump live in the same neighborhood and their home does not have a wall
Sasha is finishing high school at Sidwell Friends
And Trump has not pushed for the Republican-controlled Congress to stay in session and negotiate with him during the holiday.
Congress will be back in session on Monday for a pro forma – in which no business is conducted – but will not formally gavel in until Wednesday.
Democrats are looking at several options to reopen the nine shuttered departments and dozens of agencies once they take power on Thursday, however they are showing no signs of backing down from the $1.3 billion on border security they offered.
Trump has told aides he won’t sign legislation that only has $1.3 billion, according to CNN.
Asked on Sunday if Trump will sign or veto a bill that Democrats pass, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said that ‘it depends what’s in it,’ but added that Trump is ‘ready to negotiate.’
‘He wants to make a deal on border security. Where are they now? Nancy Pelosi is in Hawaii,’ Conway said on CNN’s ‘State of the Union.’ ‘And negotiation by definition has to include both sides. He’s in the White House. He’s in Washington ready to negotiate.
Ivanka Trump leaves her D.C. home
The Obamas moved into their D.C. home after Trump became president so Sasha could finish out her time at her Washington D.C. high school
A Uniformed Secret Service officer checks the ID’s of visitors who want to enter the residential street where the Obamas live
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters at the White House Sunday that the president is open to a compromise with Democrats that includes $5 billion for border security in exchange for legislative changes to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
‘(The) President didn’t commit but I think he’s very open minded,’ Graham said after he had lunch with Trump.
He said Trump’s first response to the plan was describing it as ‘interesting.’
Graham originally proposed his plan in an appearance on CNN Sunday morning.
‘Here is what I think might work. $5 billion for the wall/border security. Democrats have voted for more than that in the past,’ he said on ‘State of the Union,’ adding that they would include money for Dreamers, an issue important for Democrats.
‘President Trump is not going to walk away from this fight without border security funding, money for the wall for lack of a better way of saying it. Democrats have a chance here to work with me and others, including the president, to bring legal status to people who have very uncertain lives. I’m not asking anybody to do something new. I’m asking people to sit down and rearrange the deal that was offered before,’ Graham said.
The president has tried to push blame on the Democrats since the crisis began more than a week ago. He has stayed in the White House over Christmas instead of traveling to Mar-a-Lago and repeatedly taken to Twitter to try and shift the narrative.
On Sunday, Trump sought to rebrand the government shutdown the fault of Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer on Sunday as the standoff entered day nine with negotiations at a standstill.
The Trumps and the Obamas at late President George H.W. Bush’s funeral earlier this month
Incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Trump and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer had an extraordinary shouting match in the Oval Office earlier this month
Trump has taken to Twitter to try to shift blame to Democrats
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham at the White House after lunch with Trump
‘Great work by my Administration over the holidays to save Coast Guard pay during this #SchumerShutdown. No thanks to the Democrats who left town and are not concerned about the safety and security of Americans!,’ he tweeted.
In an extraordinary Oval Office shouting match earlier this month, Trump told Schumer and incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi he would take responsibility for any shut down.
‘You want to put that on [me], I’ll take it,’ Trump said. ‘You know what I’ll say: Yes, if we don’t get what we want, one way or the other – whether it’s through you, through a military, through anything you want to call – I will shut down the government. Absolutely.’