Maxine Waters responds defiantly to Trump's threat to shut down the government

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) responded with scorn and defiance to a tweet from President Donald Trump threatening to shut down the government if his border wall wasn't funded by Congress.

'His bluffing and his bullying'

"A shutdown, a government shutdown isn't good for either party. Nobody looks good when one happens," said MSNBC anchor David Gura. "How did you react to what the president tweeted this morning? How real a threat do you think it is we could be facing a government shutdown in the fall?"

"Well you know this president is a bully," Waters responded. "And he'll try to intimidate all of us.

"He's not going to shut down anything," she claimed. "As a matter of fact, people will remember that he said he was going to build this wall, and he was going to make Mexico pay for the wall. They said they weren't going to pay for anything."

"Now he wants the American citizens to pay for this wall," Waters continued, "American citizens are not going to pay for this wall."

"He's not going to shut down the government," she concluded, "and we are not going to be intimidated by his bluffing and his bullying."

Waters was responding to the threat from the president through his social media account on Sunday.

"I would be willing to 'shut down' government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security," he tweeted, "which includes the Wall!"

"Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT!" he added. "We need great people coming into our Country!"

Here's the video of Waters' remarks:

Many Republicans, including the leadership, appear reluctant to make immigration an issue for the midterm election, but a hard line on border enforcement is a prominent part of Trump's campaign promises.