“I am proud to shut down the government for border security,” says Trump.

In an awkward meeting with incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, President Donald Trump said that he was willing to shut down the government if he didn’t get funding for his border wall. Going further, the president said he would take full responsibility for such an eventuality. 

“If we don’t get what we want, one way or the other, whether it’s through you, through military, through anything you want to call, I will shut down the government,” Trump said. “And I am proud. I’ll tell you what. I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck. Because the people of this country don’t want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country. So I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it.  The last time you shut it down, it didn’t work. I will take the mantle of shutting down. I’m going to shut it down for border security.”

During the exchange, Schumer was smiling, as well he might since the president handed the Democrats a powerful sound bite they can replay if a shutdown occurs. Vice President Mike Pence, also present at the meeting, looked uncomfortable.

Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo sees a few notable takeaways from this exchange: “One is Schumer at the very end baiting Trump into defiantly insisting he’ll be ‘proud’ to shut down the government,” Marshall notes. “Another is Pelosi, steel without bluster, formidable in any circumstance but particularly for Trump who couldn’t seem to find either weakness or escalation. He would switch over to Schumer for a break.”