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President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Democrats for the partial government shutdown as Republicans and Democrats have yet to reach an agreement on funding the Department of Homeland Security, while also saying he considered his administration victories on issues such as the economy and crime.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump boasted of “great fiscal data” such as low inflation and falling fuel prices.
“Great fiscal data, you saw low inflation, very low inflation. Prices are down. Way down. Gasoline is less than $2 a gallon in many places, which no one expected,” Trump said, although the national average for gas is closer to $3 and the state average in the areas with the cheapest fuel still remains above $2.
DHS shutdown looms as Johnson navigates GOP divide over stopgap solutions
President Donald Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One as it flies to Washington, DC (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
“But I did it according to the early expression of drill, baby, drill. Prices are down too fast. And as gasoline and oil and gas prices go up, so are a lot of other products… We’ve inherited a mess, and we’ve brought our country back,” he added.
Asked about the partial shutdown over DHS funding, Trump said it was a “Democrat shutdown” that “has nothing to do with Republicans”, accusing Democrats of being troubled by the decline in crime numbers, for which he took credit, despite data showing that homicide and other violent crime had declined in major cities before his return to the White House.
He said, “This is a Democrat shutdown. This has nothing to do with Republicans and the Democrats are shut down. They are upset that the crime numbers are so good. They are very unhappy that there is a movement going on.”
Republicans and Democrats have not yet reached an agreement on funding the Department of Homeland Security to end the partial government shutdown. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Democrats have called for tighter oversight and reform of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the fatal shooting of two US citizens last month by federal agents in Minneapolis.
“They don’t want voter ID because they want to commit election fraud,” the president said, referring to the House-passed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.
“They don’t want mail-in ballots. They want to end mail-in ballots, and another thing is [Republicans] Insisting on giving proof of citizenship. And the Democrats don’t want to provide proof of citizenship. They don’t want to give voter ID card.”
Partial shutdown continues as DHS funding talks stall
President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for the partial government shutdown. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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Nevertheless, Trump said he was willing to meet with Democrats to discuss a plan to end the shutdown, but stressed that “we have to protect our law enforcement” and that immigration authorities have “done a very good job” in removing “criminals who have been brought in.”
The president also said he would deliver his State of the Union address, scheduled for next week, if the shutdown still occurred.
