Donald Trump's chances of declaring a national emergency at the border have increased dramatically

And a fairly definitive text, given that the conference committee on Capitol Hill only began to meet to find a compromise (or to see if there was a compromise to be found) this week. It seems that it is finished even before the discussions begin. And with the government's next possible stop – February 15 – in a little over two weeks.

The half-glassy guys will notice that Trump says (and tweets) all kinds of things – things that are often contradictory. one with the other and that he often returns there the next day. And they will also point out that, even though Pelosi's promise not to spend money on a wall is conclusive, she said during the press conference that other elements suggested that She always thought that a compromise was possible.

Asked about the existing barriers and other non-wall options, Pelosi answered this:

"If the President wants to call that a wall, he can call it wall." that we already have, almost once more, it's a place where the improved fencing would work, the norman fencing.Let them have this discussion. "

I guess that Pelosi's commentary offers a small way forward. But the reason the government shut down 35 days ago was due to Trump's insistence that money should be allocated to a wall and that Pelosi (and the leader of the minority in Senate, Chuck Schumer) had made it clear that he would not receive $ 5.7 billion to build a wall along the country. southern border.

Which, yes, is largely a quarrel of terminology. But that's exactly where we are today.

Yes, I know Trump said earlier this month that he did not care about the call of the wall.

Except that about a dozen times since – including Thursday morning! – Trump said that he thought the only way to stop the flow of undocumented immigrants to the United States was a wall. And he continues to use that word. Not "slats of steel". Not "fencing".

"Wall".

Since January 26, the day after the closure, Trump sent 16 tweets using the word "wall" at least once (and usually more than once). For 18 months he was a presidential candidate, Trump said "we are going to build a wall!" not "we will build a series of steel slatted fences and reinforced barriers!"

Words matter. And the word Trump chooses again and again is "wall". Pelosi knows that – and that's why, since the end of last year, she's absolutely adamant: Democrats do not want to pay a dime to build the Trump Wall in compromise bills. When Pelosi – a few hours after Trump announced to more than 50 million of its subscribers on Twitter that "A WALL is a WALL" – told reporters that there would be no money in a bill for Trump's wall, she knew it would trigger Trump. And that diminishes his willingness to sign any compromise that Congress could find over the next two weeks.

On our current journey – a battle of words between Trump and Pelosi on the "wall" – we are On February 15, we headed for another moment of crisis. Which, if you look back on Trump's Twitter feed, seems in any case to wait for it.

"I'd like people to read or listen to my words on the wall of borders," Trump tweeted on the day the closing deal was concluded. "It was by no means a concession, it was to take care of millions of people seriously injured by the closure of the project, knowing that in 21 days, if no agreement is reached, the races are launched! "

"out of the race", Trump means one of the two following routes:

1) Another government stop

2) He declares a national emergency situation at the border

This decision would result in a court challenge to Trump 's decision to declare an emergency. But it would be a problem in the medium and long term, as opposed to the short-term problem of another government shutdown. What Trump (and the Republicans) would probably take at this point.

Things can change – of course. But the back and forth between Pelosi and Trump on Thursday makes it clear that an agreement will not be easy to find. At all.