President Donald Trump has been in office during the two longest government shutdowns in American history.

The current shutdown entered its 36th day on Nov. 5, as Democrats and Republicans have been unable to come to an agreement on the expiring health insurance subsidies at the center of the debate. The Trump administration has widely blamed Democrats for the shutdown, and Democrats say Republicans are refusing to negotiate.

The last record-breaking shutdown was also under Trump's presidency. Lasting for 35 days over the 2018 holiday season, the shutdown was his third during his first administration. The others lasted a few hours and a few days. The shutdown broke the record on the anniversary of Trump winning the 2024 election, which he gave much airtime to in his public remarks on Nov. 5.

What did he have to say about the shutdown back then? Here is what we know:

How did the last shutdown end?

The previous longest government shutdown started with an impasse over Trump's demands for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Democrats argued that a wall would be costly and ineffective, and they refused to give him the money.

It stretched for 35 days from Dec. 22, 2018, and ended Jan. 25, 2019. At the time, Democrats controlled the House and Republicans controlled the Senate.

Eventually, the White House and Congressional leaders struck a deal to reopen the government for less than a month. Their agreement contained no new money for a border wall, but it did call for a bipartisan conference committee to spend the next three weeks negotiating ways to secure the southern border.

Weeks later, the funding package that Congress agreed on included only $1.375 billion for the wall, prompting Trump to try to access more funds by declaring a national emergency.

Trump in 2018: 'I am all alone (poor me) in the White House'

Trump still blamed the Democrats for the shutdown in 2018-2019, but made a show of staying in Washington, D.C., for the shutdown and concern for federal workers who went unpaid. This time around, Trump has traveled to the Middle East, Asia and his home in Florida.

"I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security," Trump said on X, then Twitter, on Christmas Eve 2018. "At some point the Democrats not wanting to make a deal will cost our Country more money than the Border Wall we are all talking about. Crazy!"

Trump also congratulated Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi on her re-election to her role as Speaker of the House amid the government shutdown.

"It's a very, very great achievement, and hopefully we're going to work together and we're going to get lots of things done like infrastructure and so much more," Trump said at a press conference at the White House on Jan. 3, 2019, per Reuters. "I think it's actually going to work out."

Trump has repeatedly made fun of Congressional Democratic leaders over the last month or so, putting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero in a deepfake video that was widely shared by the White House."I will make sure that all employees receive their back pay very quickly, or as soon as possible. It’ll happen fast. I am asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to put this proposal on the floor immediately." Trump said on the day the shutdown ended in 2019.

On Oct. 7, Trump threatened to withhold back pay, saying some employees "don't deserve" the compensation. But the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, passed during the 2019 government shutdown, says that federal workers who are furloughed during a lapse in government funding "shall be paid for the period of the lapse." The White House has claimed a loophole and also threatened to worsen the federal layoffs during the shutdown.After the 2019 shutdown ended, Trump denied he was folding on his ask.

"This was in no way a concession," Trump posted on social media. "It was taking care of millions of people who were getting badly hurt by the Shutdown with the understanding that in 21 days, if no deal is done, it’s off to the races!"

Trump said during Obama shutdown blame falls with the president

In April 2011, leaders of both parties came to an agreement following weeks of difficult negotiations and ultimately averted a government shutdown, as recapped by President Barack Obama. Trump spoke about a potential shutdown ahead of their agreement in an interview with Meredith Vieira on NBC's "Today” show. A recording posted to Vimeo by Roll Call Factbase shows Trump said the following:

"In my opinion, I hear the Democrats are gonna be blamed, I hear Republicans are gonna be blamed, I actually think the president would be blamed," he said. "If there is a shutdown ... I think it would be a tremendously negative mark on the president of the United States. He's the one that has to get people together."

At the time, Trump was toying with a presidential run and repeatedly questioning the validity of Obama's citizenship. Obama was born in Hawaii, making him a U.S. citizen.

A shutdown did eventually occur when Obama was president. In 2013, the government shut down for 17 days.

Ahead of the 2013 shutdown, Trump also spoke of how shutdowns are remembered in a phone interview with Fox News' "Fox & Friends," according to Politifact:

"When they talk about the government shutdown, they’re going to be talking about the president of the United States, who the president was at that time," Trump said. "They’re not going to be talking about who was the head of the House, the head of the Senate, who’s running things in Washington. So I really think the pressure is on the president."

Contributing: Eliza Collins, Michael Collins, John Fritze, Joey Garrison, Zac Anderson, USA TODAY

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How did the last shutdown end? As Trump breaks his own record, what did he say last time?

Reporting by Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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