Strategist says Trump will cave to Dems in shutdown fight: ‘He can sense the tide turning’

Political strategist and policy advisor Basil Smikle made a bold prediction Saturday that President Donald Trump will end up caving to Democrats in the ongoing government shutdown fight as it stretched into its 39th day.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) have reportedly been opposed to Trump meeting with Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to discuss a pathway to re-opening the government, with the shutdown having been sparked over disagreements on health care policy.

“One of the reasons why Thune and Johnson didn't want the president – still doesn't want the president to meet with Jeffries and Schumer is because they're afraid that Trump will make a deal with Schumer and Jeffries on the Obamacare subsidies,” said MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart Saturday.

“Do you think that next week, we're going to see the president get involved and make a deal with those two?”

Smikle said that he believed it was “more likely than not” that Trump would end up caving to Democrats’ demands, and largely due to the political blowback he and his party may receive from millions of Americans losing health care coverage and having premiums more than double.

“I think it's more likely than not at this point because [Trump] can sense the tide turning,” Smikle said. “Everything that Republicans have tried to do, they didn't think Democrats would last this long, and they have.”

The dispute centers around funding for Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Democrats have refused to back any funding measure that doesn’t include an extension of the subsidies, which, if allowed to expire, would see nearly 4 million Americans lose health insurance and premiums for Obamacare enrollees increase by 114%.

Smikle also predicted that Democrats would hold strong in refusing to re-open the government without securing funding for the subsidies to be extended, arguing that if Democrats voted to re-open the government without getting the subsidies extended, they could face their own political backlash.

“If the Democrats make any deal, if they can't go back to the voter and say 'we brought your prices down,' that's a problem,” he said.