Story highlights Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have until midnight on Friday to avert a government shutdown

"Nobody thought, including the Democrats, they could work this well," Trump said of the tax plan

(CNN) President Donald Trump said Thursday he believes Democrats want a government shutdown in order to stop talking about the impact Republican-backed tax cuts are having on the economy.

Democrats "want a shutdown to get off the tax cuts because they have worked so well," Trump said while touring a factory in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have until midnight on Friday to avert a government shutdown by passing a short-term funding measure.

"Nobody thought, including the Democrats, they could work this well," Trump said of the tax plan. "They have been so good that I think the Democrats would like to see a shutdown in order to get off that subject. That is not a good subject for them, the tax cuts, because of the way they have worked."

Even as the federal government careened towards a shutdown, Trump looked to tout his first year in office, particularly the impact his presidency has had on the economy.

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