Trump's new shutdown excuse: 'Most of the people not getting paid are Democrats'

As the partial government shutdown enters its sixth day, President Trump seemed to suggest Thursday that most of the federal employees going without pay are Democrats.

Trump continued to insist on Twitter that the government can't re-open until Democrats agree on the $5 billion he has demanded for his proposed border wall. But this time, he added, "Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats?"

About 380,000 federal employees have been furloughed, and 400,000 more have been forced to work without pay, because of the shutdown, which began when Trump refused to sign a stopgap spending bill that didn't contain the $5 billion he wants for his border wall, per ABC News.

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Trump seems to now be suggesting that most of the affected employees are Democrats, either in an attempt to dismiss the significance of their struggles or to pressure Democrats into caving to his demands. Trump had previously attempted to pin the shutdown on Democrats, despite previously pledging he would take the blame for it. "I am proud to shut down the government for border security," Trump told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Dec. 11. "I will be the one to shut it down."