Thursday at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, PA, President Donald Trump said he would “personally prefer” to shut down the government before the midterm elections in November if Congress does not pass funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump said, “We are going to be taking some very tough actions. I don’t know if it’s before the election or after the election. You know a lot of the Republicans say, and they are good, they are good, we need more Republicans, and they are friends of mine, and they say president, you know –some of them are really tough guys —and they say, ‘Sir, we are better off if we wait until afterwards.'”

He continued, “I say it’s better before. Let’s do it before. You know who thinks It’s better to do it before? Rush Limbaugh thinks it should be before, before the election. You know who else? Sean Hannity. A lot of them, great people. A lot of people, a lot of great Republicans, they are well-meaning. They say ‘look we have the best economy ever. We are doing great.’ Maybe they don’t want to complicate it. I understand it. You know I’m a little torn myself. I would personally prefer before (November’s midterm elections). But whether it’s before or after, we’re either getting it, or we’re closing down government. We need border security. We need border security.”

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