President Donald Trump says he is willing to close down the US government if necessary to build his wall along the Mexico border.

He told supporters at a “Make America Great Again” rally in Phoenix, Arizona, that the opposition Democrats were being “obstructionist”.

During the 80-minute speech, President Trump also took aim at the media, blaming them for giving far right groups “a platform”.

However, Donald Trump selectively quoted his initial response to violence at a far-right rally that left one woman dead.

The president omitted the much-criticized claim that “many sides” had to shoulder the blame for violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

He wants Congress to finance his controversial plan to build a “big, beautiful” wall along the United States’ border with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.

However, Republicans will need the support of Democrats to secure funding for the wall in a government spending bill, which they are unlikely to get.

In his speech, President Trump said the Democrats were “putting all of America’s safety at risk” by opposing the wall. He said immigration officers who worked in the area said it was “vital” to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.

He said that, if it came to it, he would risk a government shutdown – which is what happens when legislation funding the federal government cannot be passed by Congress and non-essential services stop.

Image source Flickr

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“Now the obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it, but believe me if we have to close down our government, we are building that wall,” President Trump said, adding that “the American people voted for immigration control”.

If he wants a government shutdown all he has to do is refuse to sign a funding bill sent to him by Congress.

Capitol Hill is set to debate a new budget measure this autumn, and unless it is passed federal operations will be in limbo by October 1.

Donald Trump attacked the media in the campaign-style speech, saying reporters had misrepresented his “perfect” words in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, where Heather Heyer was killed after a car ploughed into a crowd of people protesting against far-right demonstrators including neo-Nazis.

The president accused “truly dishonest people in the media and the fake media” of “trying to take away our history and heritage” because, he said, they “don’t like our country”.

Donald Trump quoted his first public response to the violence on August 12, which was criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for not clearly condemning the far-right.

He said: “This is what I said on Saturday: <<We’re closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia,>> – this is me speaking. <<We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence.>> That’s me speaking on Saturday, right after the event.”

However, the president’s full quote was: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides.”

Separately, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has criticized the US for what it said was a “failure at the highest political level” to reject “racist violent events”.

Referring to Charlottesville, the committee it was issuing a rare “early warning”, which has been used in recent years in countries including Burundi, Iraq, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.

President Donald Trump says he is willing close down the US government if necessary to build his wall along the Mexico border.

He told supporters at a “Make America Great Again” rally in Phoenix, Arizona, that the opposition Democrats were being “obstructionist”.

During the 80-minute speech, President Trump also took aim at the media, blaming them for giving far right groups “a platform”.

However, Donald Trump selectively quoted his initial response to violence at a far-right rally that left one woman dead.

The president omitted the much-criticized claim that “many sides” had to shoulder the blame for violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

He wants Congress to finance his controversial plan to build a “big, beautiful” wall along the United States’ border with Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.

However, Republicans will need the support of Democrats to secure funding for the wall in a government spending bill, which they are unlikely to get.

In his speech, President Trump said the Democrats were “putting all of America’s safety at risk” by opposing the wall. He said immigration officers who worked in the area said it was “vital” to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.

He said that, if it came to it, he would risk a government shutdown – which is what happens when legislation funding the federal government cannot be passed by Congress and non-essential services stop.

“Now the obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it, but believe me if we have to close down our government, we are building that wall,” President Trump said, adding that “the American people voted for immigration control”.

If he wants a government shutdown all he has to do is refuse to sign a funding bill sent to him by Congress.

Capitol Hill is set to debate a new budget measure this autumn, and unless it is passed federal operations will be in limbo by October 1.

Donald Trump attacked the media in the campaign-style speech, saying reporters had misrepresented his “perfect” words in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville, where Heather Heyer was killed after a car ploughed into a crowd of people protesting against far-right demonstrators including neo-Nazis.

The president accused “truly dishonest people in the media and the fake media” of “trying to take away our history and heritage” because, he said, they “don’t like our country”.

Donald Trump quoted his first public response to the violence on August 12, which was criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for not clearly condemning the far-right.

He said: “This is what I said on Saturday: <<We’re closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia,>> – this is me speaking. <<We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence.>> That’s me speaking on Saturday, right after the event.”

However, the president’s full quote was: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides.”

Separately, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has criticized the US for what it said was a “failure at the highest political level” to reject “racist violent events”.

Referring to Charlottesville, the committee it was issuing a rare “early warning”, which has been used in recent years in countries including Burundi, Iraq, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast.