Asked by a reporter about if he was still considering declaring a national emergency to get the wall built, President Trump asserted that the only reason he hasn’t done it yet is because he still hopes there may be an opportunity for a deal.

“I have the absolute right if I want. My threshold will be if I can’t make a deal with people that are unreasonable”

MOMENTS AGO: President Trump says he may still declare a national emergency to build a border wall:

“I have the absolute right to do a national emergency if I want,” President Trump declared.

The reporter then asked what his threshold would be, to which Trump responded that it will be if he cannot make a deal with “people that are unreasonable.”

“My threshold will be if I can’t make a deal with people that are unreasonable,” President Trump explained.

There had been speculation that he would declare a national emergency during his prime time address from the Oval Office on Tuesday evening, but he did not.

“We can call a national emergency because of the security of our country, absolutely,” Trump said on Friday.

“We can do it. I haven’t done it. I may do it,” Trump told reporters. “We can call a national emergency and build it very quickly and it’s another way of doing it, but if we can do it through a negotiated process, we’re giving that a shot.”

USA Today reports, “A national emergency, declared by the president by proclamation or executive order, gives a president extraordinary powers — to seize property, call up the National Guard and hire and fire military officers at will.”