‘I am all alone (poor me) in White House'

Democratic leaders accused an isolated President Donald Trump on Monday of sowing Christmas "chaos" after the stock market plummeted and the US government shutdown hit a third day.

"It's Christmas Eve and President Trump is plunging the country into chaos," Nancy Pelosi, who takes over next month as House speaker, and Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Republican-led Senate, said in a joint statement.

In his third straight day holed up inside the White House during the partial federal government shutdown that he initiated over his demand to construct a border wall, President Donald Trump barked out his frustrations on Twitter: Democrats are hypocrites! The media makes up stories! Senators are wrong on foreign policy - and so is Defense Secretary Jim Mattis!

Trump said war-ravaged Syria would be rebuilt not by the United States but by Saudi Arabia.

As the stock market closed out its worst December since 1931, the president placed sole blame for the staggering sell-off on the Federal Reserve, likening the central bank to a golfer who "can't putt."

That was all before noon. And then, at 12:32pm, came Trump's 10th tweet of the day, a plaintive complaint from a president who craves constant interaction and praise:

"I am all alone (poor me) in the White House waiting for the Democrats to come back and make a deal on desperately needed Border Security," he wrote.