‘Problems start from the top’: Trump’s own words come back to haunt him amid government shutdown

The government shutdown began last night as politicians failed to pass a short-term funding bill. Of course, Donald Trump is busy pointing the finger at everyone except himself, but before he was president he sang an entirely different tune.

Old footage of Trump from before even his first presidency is currently going viral on X amid the current shutdown. A compilation of Trump suggesting that the president should always get the blame seems to directly contradict his current attitude. One clip, from April of 2011, we see Donald Trump sitting down for an interview on NBC’s The Today Show. 

On it, he stated, “if there is a shutdown, I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States.” Past Trump actually has a point there. He tells the interviewer that the president is “the one that has to get people together,” if only he could see how divisive he has become himself in 2025.

In another clip from 2013, Trump can be heard saying “problems start from the top,” before suggesting the current president, Barack Obama, be fired.

Of course, Donnie switched up as soon as it was him in the hot seat. From 2017 onwards he began pointing the finger at Democrats, rather than sticking to his guns and taking responsibility like he claimed Obama should. It almost seems like he never really believed it was the president’s fault, in fact, it looks more like he was just looking for an excuse to attack Obama at the time.

Trump isn’t taking responsibility for the latest government shutdown

The president has been throwing his weight around these last few days, threatening to shut down the government but still trying to point the finger at the Democrats. However, Republicans control both the House and the Senate so it’s hard to see how this is the fault of the Democrats. Trump is the one in control here and according to his own words from 14 years ago, he should be bringing people together.

But here we are, with the government shut down over a funding bill as Democrats hope to include healthcare provisions in the bill. But Trump is willing to cause more suffering for American citizens so he can force through his bill without extending the Affordable Healthcare Act subsidies. 

The power is in his hands, as he previously stated, “problems start from the top,” and he is at the top, there’s no point throwing his blame at those below him. Trump is the leader and that means he needs to take some responsibility, to blame anybody else is madness. Unfortunately he always finds a way to twist it into making someone else look bad.