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What did Donald Trump publicly say about a 2013 government shutdown in interviews and social media in 2013?
Executive summary
Donald Trump publicly framed a government shutdown in 2013 as a leadership failure by the president, saying the president would be remembered for a shutdown and criticizing President Obama’s capacity to “get people together” in interviews; he also used social media to urge Republicans to stick together against Obamacare [1] [2] [3]. Subsequent fact-checks find that while the broad thrust of his 2013 comments—blaming presidential leadership for shutdowns—is supported by contemporaneous interviews and tweets, some terse quoted formulations circulating later are not verbatim and the record shows evolution and political repurposing of those remarks [4] [5].
1. How Trump described leadership and blame in 2013 — blunt and presidential-centric
In interviews reported from 2013, Trump argued that shutdowns reflect top-level leadership failures, saying problems “start from the top” and the president should be the dealmaker who brings parties together to avoid such outcomes; a Fox News clip and related coverage captured him asserting the president would be remembered for a shutdown more so than congressional leaders [1] [6]. Those comments built on an earlier 2011 media exchange where Trump told NBC he would prevent a shutdown by negotiating, framing himself as someone who could “get everybody together” and take responsibility. The public record thus shows Trump articulating a consistent rhetorical theme in that period: leadership equals political liability for a shutdown, and the president bears primary responsibility for resolving it [3] [6].
2. What Trump tweeted and posted — pro-Republican, anti-Obamacare posture during the crisis
Contemporaneous social media from Trump in 2013 reinforced his interview rhetoric: he tweeted in support of Republicans resisting Obamacare funding and urged unity against the law, framing the showdown as a test of Republican resolve and leadership competence. These posts praised Tea Party tactics and criticized establishment Republicans for not attacking Democrats forcefully, reflecting an active public campaign to push a conservative fight over health-care funding rather than de-escalation [2]. The 2013 social-media record therefore complements the interview statements by showing Trump publicly amplifying partisan strategy as a legitimate route to force policy concessions, not merely diagnosing a leadership problem in abstract terms [2] [3].
3. Later juxtaposition and apparent inconsistency when Trump became president
Fact-checking and retrospective coverage note a clear shift in Trump’s public posture after he assumed the presidency: remarks he made in 2013 blaming presidential leadership for shutdowns were contrasted with later statements as president, when he publicly placed blame on Democrats and framed shutdowns as a partisan tactic tied to immigration and healthcare [5]. Commentators and fact-checkers flagged that contrast as politically significant, observing that Trump’s earlier framing ascribed primary responsibility to the president while his later messaging as president often directed responsibility toward congressional opponents. The record indicates evolving attributions of blame that tracked his transition from commentator and dealmaker to incumbent and partisan leader [5] [6].
4. Accuracy check: what is verifiably true and what is a blended quote
Independent reviews in 2018 and later fact-checking in 2025 conclude that Trump did not utter certain pithy, circulated one-liners verbatim, but he did consistently express the substantive idea that presidents are ultimately responsible for shutdowns. A 2025 fact-check concluded the widely circulated quote was a mixture of true and false elements: the sentiment matches archival interviews, but some verbatim formulations are interpolations or paraphrases [4]. Contemporary news coverage from 2018 that resurfaced Fox News clips supports the existence of the underlying statements; fact-checkers emphasize the distinction between accurate paraphrase of a stance and inventing exact words attributed to him [1] [4].
5. The bigger picture — politics, media framing, and why these 2013 remarks matter
Trump’s 2013 public statements serve as a political touchstone illustrating how rhetoric about responsibility can be repurposed depending on the speaker’s role. As a private citizen and commentator, Trump foregrounded presidential responsibility and dealmaking; as an officeholder, he reframed responsibility to align with partisan objectives. Media and political actors have used the 2013 record to highlight apparent hypocrisy, to critique leadership claims, or to defend strategic positioning depending on their agendas, making those historical remarks a focal point for broader debates about accountability in shutdowns [2] [6]. The record shows durable themes—leadership, blame, and strategy—but also demonstrates how public statements are mobilized differently when stakes and roles change [5] [4].