“Trump, I’m sure, does not ever think he caves on anything. But outward appearances are what they are," Rush Limbaugh said. | Getty Limbaugh: Looks like Trump is ‘caving’ on border wall funding

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh lamented Tuesday that President Donald Trump is “caving” to Democrats, who refuse to back a must-pass spending bill to keep the government running that includes money for a border wall.

“I’m not happy to have to pass this on. I’m very, very troubled to have to pass this on,” Limbaugh said at the top of his radio show on Tuesday, according to a transcript. “And I want to say at the outset that I hope my interpretation is wrong, and I hope this is not the case. But it looks like, from here, right here, right now, it looks like President Trump is caving on his demand for a measly $1 billion in the budget for his wall on the border with Mexico.”


Trump campaigned on a pledge that the Mexican government would fund his proposed wall but has since acknowledged the political reality that American taxpayers will initially foot the bill. The president has maintained, however, that Mexico will eventually pay for the wall in some form, despite Mexican leaders’ repeated denials.

Trump has sent mixed messages about his preferred timeline for funding the wall through Congress. He indicated to conservative media late Monday that he could wait until the fall to fight for funding but tweeted Tuesday morning not to believe the so-called “fake media” that suggest his stance on the wall has changed.

“His priorities have not changed,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Tuesday. “There will be a wall built.”

Lawmakers have until Friday to strike a budget deal to keep the government running through September, though they could also agree on a stopgap spending plan to buy themselves more time. But it’s unlikely that any bill Congress passes will contain funding for the wall.

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“If this happens, if Trump does — and I use the word ‘cave’ guardedly,” Limbaugh said. “Trump, I’m sure, does not ever think he caves on anything. But outward appearances are what they are. And the bottom line is that if he is willing to withdraw a demand of his for a measly billion dollars for the wall because the Democrats are threatening a shutdown then the Democrats will have just learned that this threat works on Trump, too, not just all the other Republicans.”