Trump blasted out a series of tweets that made it clear that he doesn’t care about losing Congress. He wants to shut down the government to get his wall.
Trump tweeted:
I don’t care what the political ramifications are, our immigration laws and border security have been a complete and total disaster for decades, and there is no way that the Democrats will allow it to be fixed without a Government Shutdown…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018
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…Border Security is National Security, and National Security is the long-term viability of our Country. A Government Shutdown is a very small price to pay for a safe and Prosperous America!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2018
Trump is trying to save his skin by going all in on immigration
Trump was referring to the midterm election when he said that he doesn’t care what the political ramifications are. These tweets were Trump telling Republicans in Congress that he doesn’t care if they lose their seats. He wants a government shutdown because he thinks that Democrats will cave to his immigration demands if the government is closed down.
Republicans tried to play this game for years with Obama, and each time Democrats didn’t bend or break. Trump thinks that he can bully Democrats into paying for his wall. It’s never going to happen. The only people who will be hurt by a government shutdown are Republicans in Congress and Trump. Nobody is going to blame the Democrats, because Republicans are in charge.
A subplot to this ploy is that Trump is trying to use immigration to distract from the Cohen/Russia scandals and keep his base in line. Trump is going to use immigration as the main issue for his reelection campaign, so he thinks that he needs to plant those seeds to keep his followers in line as Cohen and Mueller bombs drop on a regular basis.
Trump doesn’t care what happens to Republicans. He is only out for Trump. Any Republicans who hitched their wagon to this president is about to get thrown off the cliff.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
