US President Donald Trump threatened a government shutdown during a heated meeting with Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.

The president cited the recent migrant caravan which was turned away in reiterating his demand that Congress authorize the construction of a wall along the southern border of the United States, a demand which Democrats have consistently refused.

Trump and the Democratic leaders clashed on camera over the issue of the border wall. The president cited the barrier erected on Israel's southern border as an example of success on

Schumer said that Democrats would use their new majority in the House of Representatives to block Trump's agenda, saying that "elections have consequences."

He also cited a Washington Post report which gave Trump 'Four Pinnochios' for his statements on the cost of the wall.

"If we don't have border security, we'll shut down the government," Trump said after Schumer and Pelosi stated that they would not support the wall..

Trump accused the Democrats of opposing the funding of the wall for "strictly political reasons."

'People do not yet realize how much of the Wall, including really effective renovation, has already been built. If the Democrats do not give us the votes to secure our Country, the Military will build the remaining sections of the Wall. They know how important it is!' Trump tweeted.

He has stated that if Congress does not fund the wall, then it will be built by the military.