President Donald Trump has given Republicans the courage and confidence to fight back against Democrats, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Newsmax Friday, pointing to battles over border security, crime, and government funding.

Speaking on "The Chris Salcedo Show," Schmitt praised Trump for teaching the GOP to confront challenges head-on.

"Yeah, I think that one of the lessons that President Trump, I think, has given the Republican Party, which I'm happy about, is that we've just got to fight," Schmitt said.

"I think we have to push back. And I think you're seeing that right now."

Schmitt pointed to the current funding battle in Congress as an example.

"We're not we're not negotiating with the Democrats on giving healthcare to illegal immigrants. It's not going to happen," he said.

"We've got a clean CR [continuing resolution]. It gets us another seven weeks to work on appropriations bills.

"So the Schumer shutdown can go on, and they're going to own it. They have to own it," Schmitt said.

"One of the reasons why I think the best days are ahead for the Republican Party is President Trump has given us that courage and, I think, that confidence to fight back, because he understands.

"And I think I understand the landscape: The left means business. They want to destroy this country in many ways," he said.

Schmitt also credited Trump with tackling crime and border security. He pointed to Washington, D.C., as an example of Trump's approach.

"President Trump has taken this issue head-on. He's taken on issues that many people thought were intractable, like taking on crime in D.C.," Schmitt said.

"Well, it turns out now you've actually reduced carjackings by about 75%, robberies by about 50%. There's no substitute for law enforcement presence and prosecutions."

The Missouri senator said Trump's policies on immigration and law enforcement demonstrated that bold action produces results.

"In addition to sealing the border, in addition to frontloading money for deportations, in addition to taking on violent crime, [Trump] is proving that if we've got the guts to take these things on, we can win," Schmitt said.

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