Asserts "problems start from the top" and President must own shutdowns

During a phone interview on Fox & Friends just days before the 2013 government shutdown, Donald Trump explicitly placed the blame for government shutdowns on the President's lack of leadership. He stated, "If you say who gets fired, it always has to be the top. I mean, problems start from the top and they have to get solved from the top, and the President's the leader. And he's got to get everybody in a room and he's got to lead." He further emphasized that "when they talk about the government shutdown, they're going to be talking about the President of the United States, who the President was at that time." These comments would later be widely cited during his own presidency when he frequently attempted to blame Democrats for shutdowns.

"Problems start from the top and they have to get solved from the top, and the President's the leader... The blame always goes to the top." — Fox & Friends interview, September 23, 2013