Trump Losing Shutdown Battle, Says He’ll Hold Democrats Hostage

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Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:49 pm

Donald Trump is already losing his shutdown battle with Democrats. After his return from Iraq today he immediately began tweeting desperately, threatening to hold Democratic voters hostage until he gets funding for his border wall with Mexico. But two new polls show that his position is very unpopular.

Writing on Twitter, Trump told Democrats that they were only hurting their own supporters by not caving to his demands for wall funding.

“Have the Democrats finally realized that we desperately need Border Security and a Wall on the Southern Border,” the president wrote. “Need to stop Drugs, Human Trafficking, Gang Members & Criminals from coming into our Country. Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats?”

Trump is showing how desperate he is by claiming that most government workers harmed by the shutdown are Democrats. A few days ago he claimed that government workers were actually applauding him for making sure that they didn’t get paid over the holidays because they wanted him to hold out until he got funding for the wall.

We have to remember that Trump tweets things with no evidence whatsoever to support his assertions. Little of what he says is true, and the vast majority of American voters know that. The Washington Post even called his shutdown “an act of needless stupidity.”

It’s laughable to think that Trump actually believes Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer will change their negotiating positions based on something that he tweets.

Trump is already losing the shutdown battle because all of his threats are empty. He shut down the government three times in 2018, while Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate, which has never happened before.

He has tried to blame Democrats for refusing to pass funding to support his border wall, but Americans know that it is Republicans’ fault.

And now there are new polls showing that Trump’s shutdown is unpopular with voters of both parties.

New numbers from Morning Consult prove how damaging Trump’s shutdown is to his popularity. The findings of this poll include:

Just 39% of voters approve of Trump, while 56% don’t — matching the lowest point of his popularity which occurred in August of 2017 after the Charlottesville protests.
By a 43% plurality voters say the president is primarily to blame for the partial government shutdown.
53% of voters surveyed also said that Trump did not do enough to stop the shutdown from happening.
52% of Trump voters believe he won’t get full funding for his promised border wall with Mexico.

In addition, a large majority — 56 percent — of American voters disapprove of his border wall and don’t want it built.

Even though the government shutdown is damaging to his — and his party’s — popularity, Trump maintains he will hold firm until he gets his way. He also said he is happy to take the blame for the ramifications of the stance he is taking.

“This is not merely my campaign promise — this is the promise every lawmaker made,” the president said. “It is the solemn promise to protect and defend the United States of America. And it is our sacred obligation. We have no choice.”

But a new CBS poll shows similar disapproval numbers. In that poll, 59 percent of Americans say they oppose the construction of the border wall.

Political analyst Ron Brownstein also was quoted as saying that Trump’s strategy is “historically unpopular.”

“The reality is that the president is using a tactic that is historically very unpopular. Shutting down for building the wall, that has never attracted majority support as far as I know in any poll that has been taken in the Trump presidency,” Brownstein said.

He also pointed out, as have many others, that there will be a Democratic House next year. Presumed Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi is not likely to give Trump a political victory in any way, so the chances of him getting the money he is demanding for his wall are practically nil.

Donald Trump’s back is now against the wall. Goaded into a no-win situation by Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham, he will soon be humiliated as he loses the shutdown battle to Rep. Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.

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Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.