Donald Trump said Thursday afternoon that his dispute with Democrats isn't actually about a border wall — it's about their refusal to give him a victory.

He predicted that he'd be the one to come out on top, though, when he's back on the ballot in 2020.

'This isn’t about the Wall, everybody knows that a Wall will work perfectly (In Israel the Wall works 99.9%). This is only about the Dems not letting Donald Trump & the Republicans have a win,' he proclaimed. 'They may have the 10 Senate votes, but we have the issue, Border Security. 2020!'

The president spent the afternoon haranguing Democrats for the 'stupidity' that he said was driving them to oppose his strategy for keeping out illegal immigrants via a wall that he says he needs at least $5 billion to finish.

'They don’t have much to campaign on, do they? An Open Southern Border and the large scale crime that comes with such stupidity!' he wrote in one of several tweets that he sent over a three-hour period.

Donald Trump said Thursday afternoon, as the Senate was poised to reconvene, that Democratic 'obstruction' was not only forcing a government shutdown but a historically-long waiting list for his federal nominees

He also put the blame for the current situation on the 9th Circuit, which he said blew up a deal that might otherwise have been struck earlier in the year

He harangued Democrats several minutes later for the 'stupidity' that he said was driving them to oppose his strategy for keeping out illegal immigrants

A statement from the White House press secretary sent concurrently to the first set of tweets claimed that Democrats are the cause of the partial government shutdown that's on its sixth day.

Sarah Sanders did not mention the president's wall at all in a long paragraph that talked about a potential border security arrangement.

Instead, she said, 'The President has made clear that any bill to fund the government must adequately fund border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs, criminals, MS-13 gang members, child smugglers and human traffickers into our communities – and protect the American people.

'The Administration understands this crisis and made a reasonable, common-sense solution to Democrats five days ago - we've not received a single response,' she claimed. 'The President and his team stayed in Washington over Christmas hoping to negotiate a deal that would stop the dangerous crisis on the border, protect American communities, and re-open the government. The Democrats decided to go home.'

Democrats have responded to the president. Party leaders blasted him for 'chaos' in the market in a Christmas Eve statement that said they were frankly confused about border security request that began with a $5 billion demand for a wall and moved to somewhere in the ballpark of $2 billion.

Trump confused the ask further when he said in a tweet this week that said the ask was in addition to $25 billion that he claimed had already been approved by Congress. The money he was referring to was part of a dead bill.

A spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday afternoon that Trump's comments didn't pass the 'laugh test' as he mocked the president's wall funding request.

The Senate gaveled in and out at roughly the same time for the week in an acknowledgement that there was no deal to be had in the post-Christmas workdays.

Rules Committee Ranking Member James McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement that his own attempt to bring up a bill in the House to fund the government through February 8 was also shot down.

'It is outrageous that Republicans once again blocked our attempt to debate a bill to end the Trump Shutdown and reopen the government,' he said. 'Federal workers should not be held hostage by the president’s demand for a useless and offensive border wall that he promised Mexico would pay for.'

He pledged that House Democrats would move swiftly on January 3 when they are in the majority to reopen it.

Until the Republican-held Senate agrees to open to the government, though, the closure will remain in effect. McConnell has said that he will not hold another vote on a spending bill until Democrats and the White House hash out an agreement.

The White House didn't outline its current request in Sanders' statement or in Trump's tweets on Thursday.

A request for clarification on whether Trump wants the $5 billion his incoming chief of staff has used as a price point or the $5.7 billion that's in a House-passed bill went unanswered earlier in the day.

In Sanders statement, she said that the president does not want the government shut down but will not sign a bill that doesn't put Americans' safety first, without defining what he'd like to see in proposed legislation.

'The only rational conclusion is that the Democrat party is openly choosing to keep our government closed to protect illegal immigrants rather than the American people. The President does not want the government to remain shut down, but he will not sign a proposal that does not first prioritize our county’s safety and security.'

In addition to turning up the heat on Democrats after letting the fire dwindle while he recovered from a covert trip to Iraq, Trump seemed to be putting new pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to throw out the rules requiring 60 votes and go 'nuclear' so that he can force through his border wall with a simple majority.

A tweet that came after nearly seven hours of silence after Trump returned to the White House said: 'The Democrats OBSTRUCTION of the desperately needed Wall, where they almost all recently agreed it should be built, is exceeded only by their OBSTRUCTION of 350 great people wanting & expecting to come into Government after being delayed for more than two years, a U.S. record!'

Earlier in the day, he fired a new shot across Democrats' bow claiming that they should feel motivated to end a six-day-old partial government shutdown because most of the out-of-work federal employees are part of their political base

Trump claimed in another message that had been sent just prior that judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals were also to blame for the stalemate in Washington that has forced a partial government shutdown that could last for more than two weeks.

'The reason the DACA for Wall deal didn’t get done was that a ridiculous court decision from the 9th Circuit allowed DACA to remain, thereby setting up a Supteme Court case. After ruling, Dems dropped deal - and that’s where we are today, Democrat obstruction of the needed Wall.'

Nine minutes later he sent the message out again with 'Supreme Court' instead of 'Supteme Court' in a correction.

He wasn't done there, though. He went on the attack again in a tweet that claimed Democrats 'don't have much to campaign on' other than an alleged desire to get rid of the federal immigration agency.

'“Border Patrol Agents want the Wall.” Democrat’s say they don’t want the Wall (even though they know it is really needed), and they don’t want ICE. They don’t have much to campaign on, do they? An Open Southern Border and the large scale crime that comes with such stupidity!' he claimed.

Earlier in the day, he fired a shot across Democrats' bow in a tweet that claimed they should feel motivated to end the six-day-old partial government shutdown, because most of the out-of-work federal employees are part of their political base.

President Donald Trump, pictured at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on his way back from Iraq, tweeted upon his return to Washington that his congressional adversaries should give him billions of dollars to fund his U.S.-mexico border wall because the federal employees affected by a partial government shutdown resulting from the funding statement are mostly Democrats

The president tried to set the news agenda by putting pressure on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as the partial shutdown entered its dixth day

Trump hosted Pelosi (left) and Schumer (right) in the Oval Office last week for what turned out to be a public airing of resentments about border security that served to harden positions on both sides of the standoff

Trump claim that most federal employees furloughed in the partial government shutdown are Democrats is borne out by campaign contribution records

Even in the Defense Department, 6 out of 7 dollars donated by employees in 2016 went to Hillary Clinton; the Education Department's lopsided ratio was 332-to-1 against Trump

Trump had just made an early-morning return to the White House after visiting Al Asad Air Base in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was busy tweeting an hour and 16 minutes later before the silence that lasted until two hours before the markets closed.

'Have the Democrats finally realized that we desperately need Border Security and a Wall on the Southern Border. Need to stop Drugs, Human Trafficking,Gang Members & Criminals from coming into our Country,' Trump tweeted. 'Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats?'

He first praised America's troops in the Middle East, saying the Iraq-based servicemen and women he visited are 'incredible people' who 'know how to win!'

It's unclear what percentage of furloughed federal workers are registered Democrats. But a late 2016 analysis of political donations among self-identified federal government employees, conducted by The Hill, showed that about 95 per cent of their presidential campaign contributions went to Hillary Clinton.

Friday night's partial shutdown, the third since Trump took office in January 2017, came after the White House and congressional Democrats reached a stalemate over funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump and the first lady made an unannounced trip late on Christmas Day to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq

Trump vowed in Iraq that he would stick to his guns in order to resolve the shutdown in Republicans' favor, telling reporters that he’ll do just about anything to secure funding for his wall.

He declined to say how much he would accept in a deal with congressional Democrats and how long he would wait to get it.

'Whatever it takes. We need a wall. We need safety for our country,' he said.

He said on the ground at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, 'You have to have a wall, you have to have protection.'