SARAH: ‘The Democrats Have Not Been Willing To Do Anything’

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday that Democrats have been completely unwilling to negotiate with President Trump for a way to re-open the government, despite Trump’s repeated overtures to Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to make a deal for Wall funding.

“It’s a very sad day when we can’t even get Democrats to show up for work and sit down with us,” Sanders said on CBS, just one day after Congress convened for less than seven minutes and then adjourned until December 31 while the government shutdown continues and no Wall funding comes through the pipeline for President Trump to secure the border. (READ: Shutdown Continues As Congress Shuffles In And Out, Doing Nothing As Usual).

“Nancy Pelosi is only looking to protect her speakership, and not protect our borders. That’s why she is unwilling to negotiate with us,” Sanders said, noting that “We pick up ten known or suspected terrorists a day coming across our border.”

As for the child who died of influenza in U.S. custody, Sanders was sympathetic, and critical of the process by which illegal immigrant children are dangerously smuggled into the country.

“We’re encouraging people not to make this treacherous journey. It is dangerous,” Sanders said, noting that a will will stop the United States from “incentivizing people to make this dangerous journey.” Sanders also noted that some of the children are seeing doctors for the first time in their lives due to U.S. government intervention at the border, and that one-third of the women making the illegal journey are raped or sexually assaulted.

“It’s a sad day for America when the Mexican government is doing more to help secure our borders than the Democrats are,” Sanders said.