Trump unveils ‘new theme’: Build a wall and crime will fall

President Trump on Wednesday issued a new rallying cry to gin up support for building a wall along the southern border.

“BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL! This is the new theme, for two years until the Wall is finished (under construction now), of the Republican Party,” Trump tweeted, urging supporters to “Use it and pray!”

BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL! This is the new theme, for two years until the Wall is finished (under construction now), of the Republican Party. Use it and pray!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 23, 2019

{mosads}While the president said his desired border wall is “under construction now,” multiple fact-checks have noted that Congress has not approved funding to construct a new wall during the Trump administration, but that existing barriers have been renovated.

Trump sent two other tweets on Wednesday morning pressing border security and the need for a wall along the border. 

Great unity in the Republican Party. Want to, once and for all, put an end to stoppable crime and drugs! Border Security and Wall. No doubt!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 23, 2019

BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 23, 2019

The president’s demand for more than $5 billion to build the structure triggered a partial government shutdown that has lasted 33 days and counting.

The Senate is set to vote this week on the president’s proposal to reopen the government, which includes $5.7 billion for wall construction, as well as temporary protections for certain immigrant groups. The Senate will also vote on a measure that would fund the government into February.

The Democrat-held House has already passed bills to fund the government.

Neither measure is expected to receive the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate, raising the prospect that the shutdown stretches into February.

Multiple polls released Wednesday morning showed Trump’s approval rating dropping amid the shutdown, voters blaming the president for the shutdown, and more voters opposing his stance on the wall than supporting it.

Trump made a border wall a central tenant of his 2016 campaign for president. Chants of “Build the Wall” regularly rang out at his campaign rallies, and he pledged that Mexico would pay for the structure.