Transcript for Trump blames Democrats for deaths of 2 migrant children as the shutdown drags on

We move on to the government shutdown, now in its second week. President trump blaming Democrats for the deaths of two migrant children in U.S. Custody. The two sides still not sitting down together since the oval office meeting more than two weeks ago. Both refusing to compromise, and caught in the middle, hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Here's Tara Palmeri. Reporter: Tonight, the president blaming the Democrats for a tragedy at the southern border, claiming without proof that it's their fault that two migrant children died in U.S. Custody this month. In his first statement on their deaths, the president tweeting, "Any deaths of children or others at the border are strictly the fault of the Democrats." While the president claims the two children wouldn't have died if he was granted money for his main campaign promise of a wall along the u.s./mexico border, his senior adviser kellyanne Conway, accusing the Democrats of politicizing the crisis. I don't like some of the Democrats using these deaths as political pawns. But isn't that exactly what the president just did? No, the president is not doing that. The president does not want these children to come on the perilous journey to begin with. Reporter: Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and border commissioner telling ABC's Martha Raddatz they did everything they could to save the children. Just absolutely devastating for us on every level. Our agents did everything they could as soon as these children manifested symptoms of illness to save their lives. Reporter: With the government shutdown into its second week, trump's allies saying don't expect the president to back down from his demand for a border wall. President trump is not going to walk away from this fight without border security funding. Money for the wall, for lack of a better way of saying it. The bottom line is, they want trump to lose more than they want the country to win. Reporter: Trump and senate minority leader chuck Schumer, and incoming house speaker Nancy Pelosi, haven't spoken to each other in 19 days. Since the day president trump said this in the oval office. I am proud to shut down the government for border security. Reporter: In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of federal workers hanging in the balance, some working without pay, and others furloughed over the holidays. We all need to get paid. We have families. We're all middle class workers and taxpayers. Tara, you reported the president hasn't even spoken to Schumer and Pelosi in more than two weeks. Is there any indication when they will meet and start negotiating? Reporter: At this point, there is no meeting on the books. My sources tell me the president has been on the phone with his conservative allies. Reassuring them he won't back down. But he thinks the shutdown will deflect from the incoming house investigations. Tara, thank you.

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