The View From Outside Washington

#Russia’s state TV discusses Trump’s wall with smug satisfaction.
[A major source of contention, a colossal waste of funds, the cause of a mindless shutdown, propaganda gold — if you’re sitting at the Kremlin, what’s not to love?] pic.twitter.com/O8Qljiat62

— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) January 10, 2019

Meanwhile, Our President takes the trip he said was useless:

Getting ready to leave for the Great State of Texas! #MAGA

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2019

Where they aren't all happy to see him:

"You could give me a trillion dollars and I wouldn't take it." Some Texas landowners vow to reject buyout offers, prepare to fight the federal government in court if it moves to seize their land to build a border wall. https://t.co/fcEZE4DPsl

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 10, 2019

Meanwhile, back in Russia:

#Russia’s state TV couldn’t be more excited about the government shutdown and the chaos it is causing in the U.S. If Trump declares a state of emergency, he might actually cause one - “Then we will finally defeat America,” sarcastically snickers state TV host Olga Skabeeva.©️ pic.twitter.com/TQUY05ryYv

— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) January 10, 2019

And even the GOP is (probably) aware that a "national emergency" would be a defeat, too:

“Lots of things are national emergencies,” [FoxNews analyst Chris] Stirewalt explained to Fox News host Sandra Smith. “Highway fatalities are national emergencies. If you define it that way, if you define it [as] what’s killing people, what are our problems, what are the things that are breaking the heart of this great nation, there are lots of things that are emergencies.”

“The Republicans will not let him declare a national emergency on this,” he continued, “and violate the Article I powers of Congress. They’re not going to let him do it because they know that if his successor, if President Kamala Harris says, ‘You know what, we have a national emergency on gun crime in the United States so I am going to start abridging the Second Amendment because I think that this is a national emergency because I have deemed it so.'”

“The reason the Republicans in Congress won’t let the president do that is because they know that one day there won’t be a Republican president,” Stirewalt concluded. “And when that happens, they don’t want that president to be able to willy-nilly declare a national emergencies and exert broad executive authorities.” 

Frankly, if Trump can suspend the 5th Amendment in an "emergency," President Kamala Harris can suspend the 2nd on the same grounds.