President Trump blamed the government shutdown on something new Thursday: the 2020 presidential election.
In a tweet Thursday morning, the president argued Democrats are angling to block funding for a border wall because it would be another of his achievements that they could not successfully campaign against.
“The Shutdown is only because of the 2020 Presidential Election,” Trump said. “The Democrats know they can’t win based on all of the achievements of ‘Trump,’ so they are going all out on the desperately needed Wall and Border Security – and Presidential Harassment. For them, strictly politics!”
The Shutdown is only because of the 2020 Presidential Election. The Democrats know they can’t win based on all of the achievements of “Trump,” so they are going all out on the desperately needed Wall and Border Security – and Presidential Harassment. For them, strictly politics!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2019
The government entered a partial shutdown on Dec. 22 due to an impasse in Congress over a spending bill which Trump has demanded must include $5 billion in border security funding. Democrats are so far resisting any spending package that fulfills that demand.
The shutdown entered its 13th day on Thursday as the 116th Congress convenes and Democrats take control of the House.
Several high profile Democratic lawmakers have already signaled an interest in running for the White House in 2020. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., launched an exploratory committee Monday, the first step in launching a bid to run.
