Trump "would absolutely blame the Democrats" for a shutdown

The president told reporters he "would absolutely blame the Democrats" for a government shutdown and doubled down on his comments that Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are "weak on crime" and "weak on illegal immigration." He also added that he expects the Senate's tax bill to pass. Asked about North Korea's most recent missile launch, Trump said "we will take care of it," but did not provide specifics.

The backdrop: The tax bill just passed in a committee vote, and North Korea's missile was fired toward South Korea. And Schumer and Pelosi skipped a bipartisan meeting with Trump at the White House Tuesday.