'This is absurd': Ex-GOP speechwriter flags troubling part of Trump's latest 'emergency'

A former GOP speechwriter flagged a troubling part of a new "emergency" that President Donald Trump declared on Monday.

Trump announced during the Mexican Border Defense Medal presentation at the White House on Monday that his administration is designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. The designation could give the administration more leeway to conduct its strikes against alleged drug boats in international waters.

Tim Miller, host of "The Bulwark Podcast," discussed the move in a new reaction video on YouTube.

"Here's the thing. Fentanyl is obviously terrible, but this is absurd," Miller said. "Fentanyl is used in hospitals. So, are hospitals now using a weapon of mass destruction? I hate to be pedantic here, but fentanyl is a pain relief opiate that has legitimate uses. It is not an atom bomb or sarin gas. It shows you a little bit about the rigor with which they are taking this declaration."

"The points he's making aren't logical," he continued. "But to me, what you're seeing here is they are using this term 'weapon of mass destruction' in the same way that they use the term 'emergency.' They want to create some kind of legal structure, and it will get struck down, but some kind of defensible argument for expanding their war efforts against these drug cartels."