Trump, who said he was 'proud' to shut down the government, now says Dems will be to blame
Ten days ago, President Trump declared he would be “proud” to shut down the U.S. government if a deal to fund a wall on the southern U.S. border with Mexico could not be reached.
“I am proud to shut down the government for border security,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. “Because the people of this country don’t want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country. So I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it.”
But with a midnight deadline to prevent a partial government shutdown looming, Trump on Friday did just that in a tweet, saying Democrats would be to blame.
“The Democrats now own the shutdown!” Trump declared.
Schumer quickly seized on Trump’s tweet.
“You own the shutdown — your own words, @realDonaldTrump,” Schumer tweeted. “The Senate UNANIMOUSLY passed a bipartisan solution to avoid a shutdown. Then you threw another temper tantrum and convinced the House to ignore that compromise. #TrumpShutdown.”
In a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer addressed the president directly.
“President Trump, you own the shutdown,” he said. “And President Trump may get his wish. But it doesn’t have to be this way.”
On Thursday night, the House passed a government funding bill that included $5.7 billion that Trump says he wants for security along the southern U.S. border. (No Democrats voted yes, and 8 Republicans voted no.) But the bill has little chance of passing the Senate, where it would need the support of at least 9 Democrats to reach a requisite 60-vote threshold.
In his Friday early morning tweetstorm, Trump praised House Republicans for passing the bill and castigated Democrats for their opposition to the border wall. The president also portrayed himself as an expert on the subject of wall construction.
“The Democrats are trying to belittle the concept of a Wall, calling it old fashioned,” Trump tweeted. “The fact is there is nothing else’s that will work, and that has been true for thousands of years. It’s like the wheel, there is nothing better. I know tech better than anyone, & technology on a Border is only effective in conjunction with a Wall. Properly designed and built Walls work, and the Democrats are lying when they say they don’t. In Israel the Wall is 99.9% successful. Will not be any different on our Southern Border! Hundreds of $Billions saved!”
“No matter what happens today in the Senate, Republican House Members should be very proud of themselves,” the president continued. “They flew back to Washington from all parts of the World in order to vote for Border Security and the Wall. Not one Democrat voted yes, and we won big. I am very proud of you!”
Trump predicted Senate Democrats would probably vote against “Border Security and the Wall even though they know it is DESPERATELY NEEDED.”
“If the Dems vote no, there will be a shutdown that will last for a very long time. People don’t want Open Borders and Crime!” Trump added. “Shutdown today if Democrats do not vote for Border Security!”
Trump’s tweets came ahead of an emergency meeting with Senate Republicans at the White House about the looming government shutdown.
Shortly before their arrival, the president suggested in a tweet that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell abandon the chamber’s requirement of 60 votes to get his border wall funded.
Mitch, use the Nuclear Option and get it done! Our Country is counting on you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
But McConnell’s office pointed out that the spending bill is covered by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and would by law require 60 votes to pass — and that the nuclear option is, in fact, not an option.
After the meeting, Trump told reporters that the GOP senators were in agreement on the need for border security, and reiterated his claim Democrats would be to blame.
“It’s really up to the Democrats, totally up to the Democrats, as to whether or not we have a shutdown,” Trump said. “But it’s possible that we’ll have a shutdown, I would say the chances are probably very good, because I don’t think Democrats care so much about, maybe, this issue, but this is a very big issue.”
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