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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
President Donald Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One while flying to Washington, D.C. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
“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.
Republicans and Democrats have yet to reach a deal on Department of Homeland Security funding to end the partial government shutdown. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty…
