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Donald Trump Announces Total and Complete Shutdown of His Presidency, to Applause
It brings me no pleasure, as a member of the GOP base® and resident of MAGAville, to tell you that Donald Trump today is a total loser. A real dummy. Trump got completely steamrolled by Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats. In the Rose Garden this afternoon he announced that he has agreed to a temporary deal to end the (partial) government shutdown until February 15. Then some trained seals who were in attendance clapped. In exchange, Trump gets nothing. America gets nothing: The deal apparently includes no funding at all for the wall.
What a loser. I thought we sent Trump to Washington to do things different. Today it appears he cares more about giving a speech to Congress next week (the State of the Union Address) than he does about securing our nation’s border. Now that the government will “re-open,” he can give the speech. Whoop-de-doo.
I am extremely unhappy with this so-called deal. Trump is, apparently, giving the Democrats one more chance to compromise. But they probably won’t. Because they want open borders. Democrats do not want to secure the border. Neither, of course, does the GOP Establishment (otherwise they would have done so already).
The swamp views the shutdown as the problem and therefore the re-opening of the government as the goal. The shutdown is not the problem. The lack of a wall is the problem.
The wall is the central campaign issue that got him elected. He can not give in on it. He says that if no long-term deal is reached during this temporary retrieve, that he will issue an executive order declaring a national emergency and build the wall on his own. At which point, some Leftist judge in Hawaii will issue a national order blocking Trump’s executive order. Then the House will probably impeach him.
Now that I’ve expressed my displeasure, here is the caveat: I have no idea what Trump’s plan is. So let’s see what happens. Trump has proven a lot of people wrong over the past three years. But this is the first time that I’ve thought he’s made a major mistake.
I wrote this post immediately after listening to Trump’s speech. I haven’t listened to much commentary in the aftermath. I am somewhat irate.
Trump can’t mess around with his base. We know that politicians have been lying to us for decades about border security. We want a wall.
The wall must be built. There is no alternative.
You think NK Kim will want to call Nancy for some pointers ahead of his next summit with Trump?
Certainly not encouraging. On the other hand, nothing’s over with this guy until it’s over: he’s obviously willing to change direction. I’m willing to wait and see.
I want a border barrier, both for reasons of national integrity and for the political win.
Two points, not heard the speech but accepting your report.
The rumors about Trump taking direction from Rush Limbaugh are apparently untrue.
Unlike with the immigration restrictions, which affected some civil rights, can anyone think of some one or party who would have standing to be affected by the wall being added to? I find it hard to imagine such a case, but it seems everyone out there is buying into a court challenge as being inevitable. I’m not sure I buy it.
Maybe it’s not as bad as I think. I’m pretty ticked off, though.
I’ve seen many hot-takes already predicting that Trump will win the day–in three weeks. This is the same 4-D chess argument his most fervent supporters always make.
To be sure, can’t know what will happen in three weeks. However, Trump hasn’t been as much of a disruptor as either he or the outrage factories would have you believe.
In every way that matters, Washington has been business as usual. They’ll pass a long term deal in a week when no-one is paying attention.
Oh? I couldn’t tell…. ;)
Oh good, just what we need on the Main Feed.
I think it was his worst political loss. He may have something up his sleeve, and I wouldn’t bet the house against it, but I’m not holding my breath (3 idioms in one sentence, not bad).
I don’t much care about the wall. I just hate government being open. Total cave.
We have been trying to tell you Max.
It’s worse. Trump is the biggest cuck of all.
That’s helpful.
In fairness to Trump, arguably the battle was already lost when he didn’t get the entirely Republican-controlled Congress to pass a bill for the wall any time in the first two years. I agree that that represents a huge failure on Trump’s part, but however little leverage one thinks he had over congressional Republicans (I think he had a fair amount, if he wanted to use it), of course he’s going to have even less over Democrats. He had already lost by not getting it done at any point 2017-2018.
I care about this issue and I feel betrayed.
At least it’s only a few weeks.
I don’t like this so far either, but a) Trump has shown us too many times that he had a plan and knew exactly what he was doing the whole time, and b) Main Feed stuff comes up in Google searches and it isn’t good for anyone to see more negative trump articles. Well I mean it’s good for the Democrats, I guess.
Uh, no.
As much as I agree with the above, it speaks to the judgment, or lack thereof, in fighting the battle now.
I mean, for the record, the wall isn’t even the most important part. I’m fully for the wall, and I agree that it’s a ridiculous and bipartisan failure that our government hasn’t completed the fence at any point since that law was passed in 2006, but if we only get one important reform, mandating that employers use E-Verify is even more important. Trump didn’t even try to go to the mat for that.
How dare you attack Trump. He is your General! And when your general surrenders to a half mummy half woman from San Francisco you surrender along with him.
Frankly, I find your emotionalism about this kind of silly. I thought Trump was never to be taken literally. The “wall” was always going to have to be in your hearts.
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Well if the order is unconstitutional I would argue anyone has a right to challenge it, or should after all the president violating the constitution would be harmful to everyone. But more specifically it seems like the House certainly would have standing as he is trying to reallocate their specific appropriations. And of course if you happen to be a private land owner whose property would have to be seized to allow for wall construction you clearly would have standing.
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Doesn’t the problem here lie with you Base Republicans here? You guys aren’t a majority of anything. Your are the only ones who give a hoot about this wall more than anything else. The rest of us just don’t care enough about it to see it as a good reason to grind down all government activity to a halt? Trump is losing because he tried to give you what you want but what you want is something that isn’t all the popular. And because of that his polling is slipping.
And anyway what are you guys going to do vote for the Democrat in 2020? Quit your whining you are getting exactly what you voted for. If you don’t like it well, tough. It was either this or Hillary Clinton. Are you saying you would want Hillary Clinton instead of no wall?
That’s Paul Ryan’s fault more than anyone else. He didn’t want a wall.
I voted for, among other things, a wall. I have not gotten what I voted for in that regard.
Keep the faith. Trump knows what we voted for.
Welcome to the club. I felt the same way when he made his “take the guns and do due process later” comment.
If the Republican Party is going to use shutting down the gov’t as leverage to enact a particular policy, it will only work if a majority of the American people want that policy more than they want the gov’t open. That majority doesn’t exist; therefore, as night follows day, the strategy failed. Again.
It appears Trump is willing to bargain for wall funding – be it thru “Dreamer” concessions or whatever (God how I hate that term). Fine. Then do it already. But negotiating in the context of a shutdown drama only hurts his leverage.
Pretty basic stuff, of which the Great Negotiator is entirely ignorant.
Not convinced of this. There are very few federal employees that are Republican, and even fewer that were Trump voters. I viewed the shutdown as a win-win for republicans. Not only did it highlight how unneeded these federal employees are (was anyone outside of the employees themselves actually affected by the shutdown? How?), but it was a tool to fund border security as well.
It’s temporary – maybe so money can be released to pay federal workers and give them relief. This also is a compromise because Pelosi specifically said there will be no funding of the wall or discussions unless the shutdown ends and Trump would stop holding people hostage.
It ended temporarily so she has to stop squawking and come to the table and negotiate. He met her halfway. If she goes back on what she said or makes excuses, then I imagine he’ll take other routes, but at least people can get paid and this will make Pelosi a liar. Again, it’s only temporary but I am glad people will get paid. This includes states and food stamps etc. Most states only have a month extra. If people can’t buy food or pay their bills, you’re looking at riots. It’s not the end of the world, just a few weeks of relief and calling Pelosi out to make good on her request.
Also, is it possible that he’ll go forward with the State of the Union? If so, it could be another tactic and a doozy, by calling her out in front of the entire Congress, Senate etc. and American people. Don’t think he wouldn’t do it.
I think that’s one reasonable point of view, but I think another reasonable point of view would be that Trump promised he could get things done, he’s not a politician, he’s a professional deal maker. Yet in the end, he couldn’t even make a deal with relatively friendly political actors that were explicitly on his side and over whom he had real leverage. (At that point, of course he’ll be even less able to make a deal with Pelosi.)
Another point of view would be: Remember all those times in the past two years when Trump tweeted his disapproval of Ryan’s or McConnell’s inaction, to pressure them into taking steps to fund the wall (or mandate E-Verify)? Remember when he used his speeches and interviews to pressure them into taking action? Well, no, he didn’t really use the last two years to create that kind of pressure. He was too busy tweeting his disapproval of his own administration (e.g., Jeff Sessions) and pursuing other things that held his interest.
Not exactly. One of the reasons that strategy failed is that blame for the shutdown apparently wasn’t assigned to the Democrats. I can’t see much reason, in this case, why that had to be the case other than messaging.