President Donald Trump threatened to cause Americans pain if the government shuts down at midnight on Tuesday, saying he could use a shutdown to make "irreversible" cuts to health care and other benefit programs.

"We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them," Trump said in the Oval Office in response to a question from a right-wing activist masquerading as a reporter. "Like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like."

Trump went on to say that Project 2025 mastermind Russell Vought, who now serves as director of the Office of Management and Budget, will use a shutdown to "trim the budget to a level that you couldn't do any other way."

"Because of the shutdown, we can do

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