The United States government shutdown has become the longest in the country’s history — and it could drag on even longer.
On Wednesday local time, as the shutdown reached its 36th day, breaking the record set during US President Donald Trump’s first term in 2019, Trump blamed the Democrats for the closure during a breakfast meeting with Republican senators.
“I just got back from Japan … I talked about the kamikaze pilots. I think these guys [Democrats] are kamikaze,” he said, referring to the name given to Japanese pilots who flew suicide attacks during World War Two.
“They’ll take down the country if they have to.”
Amid ongoing efforts by Trump and Republican leaders to assign blame to the Democrats, a new NBC News poll reveals that 52% of American voters hold Trump and congressional Republicans responsible for the current deadlock, while 42% point fingers at the Democrats.
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US government shutdowns are not uncommon. In fact, this is the 15th shutdown since 1981. It usually happens when the bill to fund the federal government fails to pass through Congress.
