Do not believe President Donald Trump when he says he will shut down the government unless Congress approves the funding for his U.S.-Mexico border wall, veteran broadcaster and bestselling author Bill O'Reilly told Newsmax TV on Monday.
"[It's] hyperbole," O'Reilly told "The Wayne Allyn Root Show." "You know that's what Donald Trump does. Mitch McConnell is not on Trump's side on this one.
"That's the big problem – the GOP head of the Senate doesn't really want to vote on border security or immigration until after the elections. That's the real story."
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Trump tweeted Sunday he would be willing to shut down the government if Democrats refuse to vote for changes he seeks to the U.S. immigration system, including building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
But according to O'Reilly, it is a lot of hot air.
"Trump throwing a hand grenade in, saying, 'I might close down the government if you don't give me the wall money' . . . Is he going to shut down the government? No," O'Reilly told Root. Mitch McConnell's a problem . . . I don't really see him on the side of the president on this one."
O’Reilly added he does not know why McConnell is being so standoffish.
"[House Speaker Paul] Ryan would put it up for a vote in the House, Ryan would," he said. "He already has. McConnell for some reason – and I'd like to know what the reason is – doesn't want to vote on this border wall, even though the Senate and the House are controlled by the Republicans. It's a mystery."
O'Reilly is the author of "Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence," written with Martin Dugard and published by Henry Holt.
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