Conservative commentator Ann Coulter slammed President Donald Trump's decision to visit the border this week as " beyond moronic" in a series of angry posts to social media.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Twitter earlier today that the president will travel to the Southern border "to meet with those on the frontlines of the national security and humanitarian crisis."
The visit is the latest in efforts taken by the Trump administration to sway public opinion in favor of the border wall.
Shortly after, Coulter criticized the president for planning the visit and compared the decision to cancer research. "Trump GOING TO THE BORDER is beyond moronic. Does he need to meet with a cancer patient before deciding to fund cancer research?" Coulter tweeted.
Trump GOING TO THE BORDER is beyond moronic. Does he need to meet with a cancer patient before deciding to fund cancer research?
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) January 7, 2019
"Trump GOING TO THE BORDER is like politicians who switch positions on gay marriage after talking to a gay person," she continued in another post. "Did they hate gays before? These are public policy issues, not coffee klatches."
Coulter added: "Border Patrol Agents are the LAST people who should be commenting on the need for a wall: "What do you think about us installing an inanimate object that can do your job better than you can?"
The partial government shutdown — which just entered its third week with no breakthrough in sight — is the result of a clash between the president and congressional Democrats over funding for the southern U.S. border wall that Trump promised his base during his campaign trail. Trump refused to sign a stop-gap measure to keep the government running through the New Year because it didn't include the $5.7 billion worth of funding he has repeatedly demanded.
About a quarter of all U.S. government departments have been affected by the shutdown, with approximately 800,000 workers either furloughed or working without pay.
Throughout the 16 days of the shutdown, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly asserted that Democrats will not allow Trump the funding he has demanded for the wall. When asked on NBC's Today show whether she will cave and give the president a portion of the funding, Pelosi staunchly responded: "No, nothing for the wall… How many more times can we say no?"
In a statement emailed to her supporters over the weekend, Pelosi announced that Democrats will attempt to "reopen all government agencies" this week.
"While President Trump threatens to keep the government shut down for 'years', Democrats are taking immediate further action to re-open the government, so that we can meet the needs of the American people, protect our borders and respect our workers," she said. "Next week, House Democrats will begin passing individual appropriations bills to re-open all government agencies, starting with the appropriations bill that covers the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service. This action is necessary so that the American people can receive their tax refunds on schedule."
After Sanders' announcement, Trump took to Twitter to declare that he will be addressing the nation on Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST to explain the "humanitarian and national security crisis" on the border.
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