Trump has demanded money for a border wall, which he says will stop flow of illegal immigrants into the US
Iraq has blamed Trump calling the visit "not commensurate with diplomatic norms". Pic/AFP
US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to "entirely" close the southern US border with Mexico if lawmakers refuse his demands to fund a wall. "We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall and change the ridiculous immigration laws we are saddled with," Trump tweeted.
The Republican leader's warning came as a partial federal government shutdown was set to drag on into next week, with legislators in Washington failing to reach a compromise over Trump's insistence on funding the border barrier. Both sides have dug in, with Democrats refusing to provide $5 billion for the project and the president vowing he will not fully fund the government unless he gets the money. Trump had last month threatened to close the "whole border" with Mexico if "it gets to a level where we're going to lose control or people are going to start getting hurt."
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The surprise Iraq visit
US President Trump could not meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdelmahdi on his recent surprise trip to the Middle Eastern country because for "security reasons" the premier was only informed of the president's visit two hours earlier, the White House said. Abdelmahdi was elsewhere in Iraq and could not rearrange his schedule to meet Trump on such short notice, White House said.
I got you one: Trump on troops' pay hike
US President Trump, on his maiden visit to Iraq, claimed that he gave them a 10 per cent pay raise and called it the first hike in more than a decade. However, the soldiers will actually receive a 2.6 per cent raise in 2019, and not 10 per cent as claimed by Trump. "You protect us. We are always going to protect you. And we got you a big one (hike)," Trump said.
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