I will be the first to admit that I thought President Trump had outplayed and outsmarted everyone.

Not that I support him or want him to, but it looked like he was going to get his glorious wall.

First he shuts the government down to try and break the democrats into giving him money for the border wall, then he declares a national emergency to try and bypass Congress to get the necessary funds for the wall himself.

If he did not declare the national emergency, then he would likely have threatened and, possibly executed, another government shutdown to get the funding.

The democrats already offered some money during the first shutdown, as part of a deal to end it.

Trump turned it down, but if he was going to shut down the government again, who is to say the democrats would not have offered more to appease him and keep government workers on their feet?

Well, it looks like the president backed himself into a corner that may end up backfiring against his cause, barring any escapes or unexpected turns.

The New York Times reported Friday that Trump admitted he did not need to declare a national emergency, which may give some ammunition to those trying to say he unconstitutionally abused his power by declaring the emergency.

From the Times: ‘“I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much,’ (Trump) said. ‘I just want to get it done faster, that’s all.’”

Even the numbers do not support the need for a proclaimed emergency at the United States’ southern border.

While the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did make a total of 396,579 total apprehensions on the southwestern border in 2018, an increase from 303,916 in 2017, the 2018 total is down dramatically from the totals of the early 2000s, according to the BBC.

Just for reference, in 2000 the number of apprehensions was over 1.6 million, with the number staying above 1.2 million in 2001.

In fact, the 2018 total is the fifth-lowest total since 2000.

So, is there an emergency at the border?

It definitely is not as bad as the president would make you think.

His emergency declaration is already being met with a flurry of lawsuits.

So, really, when looking at the numbers and what the president himself said, he does not have a strategic hold on the situation.

Really, he stopped himself from having any strategic position.

Dillan Schorfheide is a junior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].