US shutdown: White House voicemail changed to blame Democrats

The White House changed its answering machine message to blame Donald Trump's political opponents for its failure to answer calls.

The recording was made amid a US government shutdown that left many federal services without staff.

But callers to the White House comment line at the weekend were informed that Democrats were to blame.

The recorded message said calls could not be answered because Democrats were holding government funding "hostage".

The recorded message was set up on the White House comment phone line, which accepts calls from members of the public.

"Unfortunately, we cannot answer your call today because Congressional Democrats are holding government funding - including funding for our troops and other national security priorities - hostage to an unrelated immigration debate," the recording says.

"Due to this obstruction, the government is shut down."

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Some members of the public opposed to Mr Trump expressed outrage at the partisan message on the public service.

The message seemed so unusual to some that it was confirmed as genuine by journalists and fact-checking website Snopes.

The line was frequently busy at the weekend, requiring multiple attempts before the BBC could get through to confirm the recording.

The government shutdown began at midnight on Friday, when lawmakers failed to agree an extension to federal funding.