 "President Donald Trump gestures while walking across the South Lawn of the White House. File image/AP")
President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric on Wednesday as the current US government shutdown surpassed the previous record, pinning the blame squarely on what he termed “kamikaze” Democrats.
The partial shutdown, which has now exceeded the 35-day duration set during a previous standoff in his first term, remains at an impasse over funding for the President’s proposed border wall.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting at the White House shortly after returning from a trip abroad, the Republican president drew a controversial historical comparison to describe his political opponents.
“I just got back from Japan,” President Trump said. “I talked about the kamikaze pilots. I think these guys are kamikaze. They’ll take down the country if they have to.”
The President’s remarks characterize Democrats as willing to inflict severe damage on the country’s operations—referencing the World War II-era Japanese pilots who carried out suicidal attacks—in pursuit of their political objectives related to the shutdown.
The escalating war of words signals little progress toward a resolution, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed or working without pay and disrupting numerous government services.