Donald Trump has again threatened to shut down the US government if Congress does not approve additional funding for border security, including a wall along the Mexican border. Speaking alongside Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at a White House press conference, the US president said he “would have no problem doing a shutdown” to secure border funding.
The threat comes as federal government funding is set to expire at the end of September, weeks before the November midterm elections. A shutdown would be the third since Republicans took control of the White House, House and Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had previously said a shutdown so close to the elections would not happen, but acknowledged the border funding issue was unlikely to be resolved before polling day.
Trump praised Conte’s “firm stance” on border security, noting the Italian prime minister’s populist and hardline immigration policies. The president also reiterated his wish list for immigration reform, including ending the visa lottery programme, stopping the practice of releasing illegal immigrants with court hearing conditions, and shifting to a merit-based system.
During the same press conference, Trump extended an unexpected olive branch to Iran, saying he would meet President Hassan Rouhani without preconditions. “I would meet with Iran if they wanted to meet. No preconditions,” he said, adding that such a meeting would be good for both countries and the world.
