President threatens to shut down the government if funding is not forthcoming

Tuesday’s theatrics in the Oval Office between U.S. President Donald Trump and House and Senate Minority Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have increased the chances that large parts of the U.S. federal government will shut down when funding authorisation for them expires at the end of next week.

In full view of the press, Mr. Trump sparred with Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Schumer and made unsubstantiated claims about migrants bringing communicable diseases into the U.S. and the extent to which a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico had already been built.

The President also repeatedly stressed that he would shut down the government if he did not get congressional funding for the wall.

Sitting in the oval office, Mr. Trump, who formerly had the main role in the reality-show The Apprentice, did not seem averse to the heated back and forth in front of the press despite Ms. Pelosi repeatedly calling for an off-camera discussion.

“But it’s not bad Nancy,” Mr. Trump said. “It’s called ‘transparency’.”

At one point, he said that he would take responsibility for shutting down government if funding for the wall was not forthcoming.

“Yes, if we don’t get what we want one way or the other, whether it’s through you, through military, through anything you want to call, I will shut down the government,” he said, adding, “And I am proud to shut down the government for border security...”

Mr. Trump had repeatedly stated on his campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall.

The President’s core support base is in favour of a border wall and at Tuesday’s meeting, Mr. Trump projected himself as a defender of the wall at all costs.

Border security

Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Schumer said they agreed that border security was required while a border wall might not be. Democrats are not in favour of a wall but do not want to be seen as being soft on security, a characterisation of them Mr. Trump has consistently promoted, including during midterm rallies last month.

“And the experts say you can do border security without a wall, which is wasteful and doesn’t solve the problem,” Mr. Schumer said. Mr. Trump wants $5 billion for the wall while Democrats want to maintain overall border security funding at current levels, i.e., $1.3 billion, through the end (September 30, 2019) of the budget year.

Funding for 20% of the government and the Department of Homeland Security (which will oversee the construction of any border wall) is at stake with funding about to expire on December 21.

At another point in the talks, Mr. Trump got told off by Ms. Pelosi for suggesting that she was not free to speak her mind as she was yet to secure her place as Speaker of the House in the forthcoming Congress. “Please don’t characterise the strength that I bring to this meeting as the leader of the House Democrats, who just won a big victory,” Ms. Pelosi said.

Later in the day on Capitol Hill, Ms. Pelosi, according to a Democratic aide, said: “It was so wild. It goes to show you: you get into a tickle contest with a skunk, you get tinkle all over you.”

“It’s like a manhood thing for him — as if manhood could ever be associated with him — this wall thing.”