Trump told reporters at the White House that the trip is “still on” for now, but he “won’t go” if the government hasn't been reopened by Jan. 21, when he is set to depart.

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Aides have been discussing scrapping the Davos trip, wary of the optics of the president hobnobbing with billionaires and celebrities at the annual conference and concerned about executing a foreign trip with staff limited in size by the shutdown.

The president spoke as he prepared to travel to the Texas border town of McAllen as he continues to press his demand for $5.7 billion for a border wall in order to reopen the government.