President Trump warned Friday that it’s still possible he could move to shut down the government if Congress doesn’t approve funding for a border wall, even though he said earlier in the day that it’s unlikely he would push the fight that far.
“I would do it, because I think it’s a great political issue,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.
Congress must pass new spending legislation by Sept. 30, with Trump emphasizing he wants more wall funding. In January, the government partially closed for three days in a dispute over immigration policy.
“Rush Limbaugh says it’s the greatest thing you can do. Mark Levin, the greatest thing you can do. Your friend Hannity, the greatest thing you can do,” Trump told reporters.
Trump’s talk echoed an interview that aired hours earlier on “Fox & Friends,” in which he noted some lawmakers are hesitant to support budgetary brinksmanship ahead of the November election.
“There are a lot of politicians that I like and respect and are with me all the way that would rather not do it because they have races, they’re doing well, they’re up. The way they look at it, might be good, might be bad,” Trump said.
Trump left the door open for using Pentagon funding for the wall, though he downplayed the option.
“We’d rather do it the old fashioned way,” Trump said. “I’ve already started the wall. We have two options – we have military, we have homeland security. Politically, I’d rather get it through politically. If we don’t, I’m looking at that option very seriously.”
[More: Trump: ‘If it was up to me, I’d shut down government over border security’]
