
United States President Donald Trump is telling allies and Twitter followers that it is the fault of the Democrats that the US Senate failed to pass a new budget.
The shutdown has prevented the funding of many federal services, which President Trump has blamed on the Democrats, calling it politically motivated.
While Trump blamed the Democrats for putting politics above their country, Democrats blamed Trump for rejecting bipartisan compromise deals. New York Democrat senator Chuck Schumer referred to it on the Senate floor as:
the Trump shutdown.
Since then, Twitter users have been making a common joke, referencing the bankruptcies of some of Trump's businesses.
In just one year as a "business man" Trump bankrupted three casinos and a hotel (1991-92). In just one year as a "… https://t.co/2Gu6MPgJro— Beau Willimon (@Beau Willimon) 1516446942
As promised, Donald Trump is running the government like a business. Unfortunately that business is a cross between Circuit City and Pan Am.— Steve Hofstetter (@Steve Hofstetter) 1516436902
They elected Trump and the Republicans to run government like a business. Right? In business, if you suck so ba… https://t.co/VXhzaB4YN9— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) 1516376492
Trump also released an image of him "working in the White House during the Democrat shutdown".
White House emails: “Photos of President Donald J. Trump working in the White House during the Democrat shutdown” https://t.co/cJzSmalG3p— Rebecca Ballhaus (@Rebecca Ballhaus) 1516492168
Twitter users were quick to mock the photo op, commenting that it looked contrived:
This WH photo is of @realDonaldTrump working during the #TrumpShutdown...with not a single thing on his desk. Just… https://t.co/nFcn02zvUF— Charlie Pickering (@Charlie Pickering) 1516516962
An emerging trend is that Trump and his staff have no idea how to stage photos to make it seem like he’s actually w… https://t.co/FjK6Fm5ATz— Matt Fuller (@Matt Fuller) 1516497327
https://t.co/jNxBVKf4BR— Dave Itzkoff (@Dave Itzkoff) 1516492712
BBC News reports this is the first time a government shutdown has occurred while one party controls both Congress and the White House.
The vote on Friday fell short of the 60 needed to advance the bill that would fund the federal government for the coming weeks, totalling at 50-49. The Republicans hold 51 seats in the Senate, requiring some support from Democrats over the budget.
The Democrats have demanded protection from deportation of more than 700,000 undocumented immigrants who entered the US as children, while the Republicans want more funding for border security, including the infamous wall, and immigration reforms as well as greater spending on military.