Trump responds to Ann Coulter's acerbic criticism he caved on the border wall

(Image credit: Rich Polk / Getty Images)

President Trump is not optimistic Congress will deliver him a spending bill he would sign before part of the government runs out of money again in less than three weeks, he told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, and he said another shutdown "is certainly an option," as is an emergency declaration to build his border wall without approval from Congress.

A solid majority of voters blamed Trump for the 35-day shutdown, but he got some blowback from his hardline immigration backers for agreed to reopen the government without wall funding. Ann Coulter, for example, called him "the biggest wimp" to serve as president and called herself a "very stupid girl" for ever believing him. "I hear she's become very hostile," Trump said of Coulter. "Maybe I didn't return her phone call or something." Other backers, including Fox News host Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, are sticking with Trump and calling his government-reopening a sort of victory. "Trump can withstand Ann Coulter," a Republican senator told Axios last week. "He can't lose Hannity and the rest."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.