Trump has always thought a shutdown on immigration would work politically for him.
by digby
Trump also claimed this morning that he never wanted the shutdown fight. Maybe that's true this time. He did seem ready to sign McConnell's continuing resolution to keep most of the government open for a year and focus the fight solely on the DHS budget, which is a different thing.
Let's be clear. Even aside from his fatuous declaration that he would proudly own the shutdown in that meeting with Pelosi and Schumer, keep in mind that this has been on his mind since he came into office:
November 30, 2017
President Trump has told confidants that a government shutdown could be good for him politically and is focusing on his hard-line immigration stance as a way to win back supporters unhappy with his outreach to Democrats this fall, according to people who have spoken with him recently.
Over the past 10 days, the president has also told advisers that it is important that he is seen as tough on immigration and getting money for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to two people who have spoken with him. He has asked friends about how a shutdown would affect him politically and has told several people he would put the blame on Democrats.
He believes that the sheer magnitude of his big swinging hands should be enough to force the cowardly Democrats to slink away with their tails between their legs, making all of America dazzled by his dominance at which point he will be re-elected by acclamation.
That's the extent of his understanding of the dynamics. He remains clueless about politics beyond the punditry and tweeting he loves so much. The Great Negotiator simply doesn't know how to negotiate, mainly because he has no idea of the details of what he's negotiating (beyond his stupid wall) and he can't figure out what his opponents need in order to compromise. He's simply pathetic.
BTW:
Trump’s efforts to pin the blame on Democrats aren’t working, according to three pollsters who have conducted at least two polls in the two and a half weeks since the government first closed. Rather, polls show that Americans are increasingly blaming Trump.1
A very stable genius indeed.
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