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President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Democrats for the partial government shutdown, as Republicans and Democrats have yet to reach a deal on Department of Homeland Security funding, while he also touted what he deemed as wins for his administration on issues such as the economy and crime.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump boasted of “great financial numbers” such as low inflation and falling fuel prices.
“Great financial numbers, you saw low inflation, very low inflation. Prices are down. Way down. Gasoline is less than $2 a gallon in many places, which nobody expected to see,” Trump said, although the national average for gas is closer to $3 and state averages in areas with the cheapest fuel still remain above $2.
DHS SHUTDOWN LOOMS AS JOHNSON NAVIGATES GOP DIVIDE OVER STOPGAP SOLUTIONS
“But I did this going by the initial expression of drill, baby, drill. Prices are coming down very strongly. And as goes gasoline and oil and gas, so goes the rest of other products that are high … We inherited a mess, and we’ve brought our country back,” he continued.
When asked about the partial shutdown over DHS funding, Trump said it is a “Democrat shutdown” that has “nothing to do with Republicans,” accusing Democrats of being upset with falling crime numbers, which he took credit for, even as data shows murder and other violent crime had been on the decline in major cities before his return to the White House.
“This is a Democrat shutdown. This has nothing to do with Republicans, and Democrats shut down. They’re upset that the crime numbers are so good. They’re very unhappy that there’s a movement,” he said.
Democrats have demanded stricter oversight and reforms of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the fatal shootings last month of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis.
“They don’t want voter ID because they want to cheat in elections,” the president added, referring to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act passed by the House that would impose stricter requirements in federal elections for voters to prove citizenship through photo ID and other documentation such as a passport or birth certificate, a measure Democrats have resisted including in long-term funding bills.
“They don’t want Mail-In ballots. They want to end mail-in ballots, and one other thing that [Republicans] are insisting on is proof of citizenship. And the Democrats don’t want to give proof of citizenship. They don’t want to give voter ID,” he added.
PARTIAL SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON AS DHS FUNDING TALKS STALL
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Still, Trump said he is 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 officers have “done a great job” in removing “criminals that were brought in.”
The president also said he would still give his State of the Union speech scheduled for next week if there is still a shutdown.