Trump doubles down on shutdown threat
Meeting with Iran’s leaders also a possibility — ‘any time’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that he “would have no problem” forcing a government shutdown in October if Congress doesn’t approve immigration restrictions he wants, along with funding for a Southern border wall, but said his demands aren’t a non-negotiable “red line.”
In a news conference at the White House alongside Italy’s prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, the president also expressed a willingness to meet with Iran’s leaders “any time,” without preconditions, citing as precedents his recent meetings with Russia President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump again criticized European countries for their trade policies and not meeting NATO funding guidelines, but he avoided singling out Italy. Instead, he found common cause with the anti-immigration stance of Conte’s ruling coalition.
“The prime minster is with us today because of illegal immigration,” Trump said. “Italy got tired of it. They didn’t want it anymore.”
The president reinforced his own anti-immigration demands and threatened Congress with a shutdown, by indicating he would refuse to sign a new government funding bill when the current fiscal year ends Sept. 30 if his proposals aren’t included.
“I would have no problem doing a shutdown. It’s time we had proper border security. We’re the laughingstock of the world.”
Yet, to a reporter’s question, he signaled an openness to compromise, saying, “I always leave room for negotiation.”
When t he reporter pressed, Trump said he would not draw a “red line.”
That wiggle room could be some comfort to Republican leaders in Congress, who desperately want to avoid a government shutdown roughly a month before the midterm elections, and thought they had Trump’s agreement.
The Republican leaders, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, left a meeting with Trump last week believing they had prevailed upon him to wait until after the election to press for the funding, to avoid a fall shutdown that could further imperil Republican candidates and distract from the Senate’s effort to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanagh.
But on Sunday, after members of Congress had gone home for a recess, Trump raised the prospect of a shutdown with a tweet against immigration.
Trump has sought $25 billion for a border wall, but would not say on Monday if he wants Congress to deliver a specific dollar amount or how seriously he was demanding it approve other actions to limit what he calls “chain migration” and a visa lottery for legal immigrants.
During the news conferrence, Trump stated his willingness to meet with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, though the questioner suggested that such a President Donald Trump held a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday. summit would be similar to the stance taken years ago by President Barack Obama, whom Republicans excoriated when he said he would meet with leaders of belligerent nations including Iran and North Korea.
“I would certainly meet with Iran if they wanted to meet,” Trump said. “I don’t know if they’re ready yet. They’re having a hard time.”
Just over a week ago, Trump had spurred worries of war with Iran, by tweeting: “To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HIS- TORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.”
It was not clear if the president has discussed the possibility of meeting with Iranian leaders with his national security staff. Pointing to his summit with Putin earlier this month, which he claimed was a success even though “the media didn’t cover it that way,” Trump said he’s willing to sit down with any world leader at any time.
“I believe in meeting,” he said. “They want to meet, I’ll meet.”
Trump and Conte promised to work together on issues related to Syria, where a civil war has become something of a proxy conflict involving Iran, Rus- sia and the United States.
Conte, who praised Trump’s initial call in June for Russia’s readmission into the Group of Seven alliance of industrialized democracies, said Monday that he remains in favor of having a dialogue with Russia. He said that talks between Washington and Moscow are “fundamental” for broader stability and security.
He also said he was “envious” of the strong U.S. economy, and praised Trump for forcing “a very fruitful exchange of views and opinions” at the contentious NATO summit in Brussels earlier this month that left other U.S. allies shaking their heads.
On immigration, Italy for years had relatively lax policies on accepting migrants escaping conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, many of them bound for other European countries. Lately, however, it has adopted a much tougher approach, which human rights activists say has contributed to a soaring death toll among refugees.
About 600 people drowned in June attempting to make it from Libya to Italy or the nearby island of Malta, and thousands more have perished or gone missing in recent years, according to United Nations figures.