‘These Guys Are Kamikaze’: Trump Likens Democrats To WWII Japanese Forces Over US Shutdown

Last Updated:November 05, 2025, 23:33 IST

The shutdown has already left around 1.4 million federal employees without pay

US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump has accused the Democrats of acting like “kamikaze pilots", saying they are willing to destroy the country as the government shutdown officially became the longest in American history on Wednesday.

The current closure, now in its sixth week, has surpassed the 35-day record set during Trump’s first term. The deadlock stems from Congress’s failure to approve a new funding package before the September 30 deadline, leaving several federal departments paralysed and millions of citizens without crucial support.

At a breakfast meeting with Republican senators at the White House, President Trump blamed the opposition party for the crisis. “As you know, we are in the midst of a disastrous Democrats-created government shutdown," he said.

“It Democrats-created, but I don’t think they are getting the blame they should. It is now the longest official shutdown in American history. The Democrat radicals, and the senators have shown zero interest in opening the government," he added.

Drawing a comparison to Japan’s wartime pilots, Trump added, “I just got back from Japan… I talked about the kamikaze pilots. I think these guys are kamikaze. They’ll take down the country if they have to."

The shutdown has already left around 1.4 million federal employees without pay, including air traffic controllers, national park staff, and administrative workers. Some courts have been using emergency funds to keep running but warn that operations may soon slow down.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the crisis could soon cause chaos across US airports if no solution is reached. “You’ll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace, because we just cannot manage it because we don’t have the air traffic controllers," he told reporters in Philadelphia.

The shutdown is unfolding just weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, when air travel is expected to hit record highs. The AAA estimates that 5.8 million Americans will fly over the long weekend, raising concerns of nationwide disruption as more than 60,000 aviation and security staff continue working without pay.

(With inputs from agencies)

News world ‘These Guys Are Kamikaze’: Trump Likens Democrats To WWII Japanese Forces Over US Shutdown

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