President Donald Trump said he would likely not shut the government down before the midterm elections over immigration, in an exclusive Oval Office interview with The Daily Caller.
“I don’t like the idea of shutdowns,” Trump said when asked if he would shut the government down before the midterm elections.
He then added that funding and work have begun on his border wall, saying, “Ultimately, I can do it all in one year. I’d like to get the funding — the full funding — but we have done a lot of work. People don’t realize that. I’ve done it very quietly.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump Says He’s ‘Amazingly Alone’ In Questioning Defense Pacts)
“I don’t see even myself or anybody else closing down the country right now,” he declared.
When pressed on whether he would consider shutting the government down over immigration after the 2018 midterm elections, he continued, “I think that after midterms, we’re going to have a very serious discussion because we want border security. We have to have it.”
Trump also pointed out that he was operating under the same legal strictures the Obama administration faced when it came to family separation: “You know, Obama had the same policy on separation … People don’t say it, but Obama had the same law that I did, and they separated parents from their children. I think you guys understand that.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump Says His People Would Be Jailed ‘For 500 Years’ If They Spied On Obama Like Obama’s People Spied On Trump)