If you've ever watched Aaron Sorkin's unparalleled TV drama The West Wing, you'll be somewhat familiar with what happens during a US government shut down.

A government shutdown is when the US Congress fails to pass funding for government operations, agencies and departments and a 'shutdown' of said services is triggered. The essential services, such as Homeland Security will continue to operate, but public buildings, federally funded museums, and other locations will close their doors temporarily.

This Friday, Senate Republicans and Democrats were unable to reach an agreement on a federal budget, meaning that those very services are being put on hold for the time being.

The bill to to fund the federal government until 16 Feburary failed to get the required 60 votes in the Senate, largely due to disagreements over Mr Trump's immigration policies and the controversial southern border wall.

The White House accused the Democrats of putting politics ahead of "national security, military families, vulnerable children and our country's ability to serve all Americans". While Chuck Schumer, a senior Democrat, remarked that the president had rejected two cross-party deals already.

Mr Trump has tweeted frequently over the past few days, describing the government shut down as 'devastating'.

However, in the past, he wasn't too concerned with this sort of situation.

The last government shutdown occurred in 2013 under the Obama administration and lasted for 16 days.

Mr Trump tweeted regularly then too and remarked that the government needed a 'good "shutdown"' in order to fix the mess in Washington.

He also remarked that the shutdown was a boon for the markets, they get along better when they're 'left alone for a day,' he tweeted.

He also pointed out that the majority of the government was running despite the shutdown.

And there was also this, almost prophetic, tweet from 2013...

Mr Trump is one of the worst rated presidents in modern history. He ended his first year in office with 39 per cent of Americans approving his job performance according to a poll released by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal.

The vast majority, 57 per cent disapprove of Mr Trump's performance on the job, while 51 per cent say they strongly disapprove.