Trump's 'terrible strategic thinking' lets GOP easily blow off his demands: analysis

Republicans in Congress have been quietly ignoring former President Donald Trump's "ridiculous" demands based on "terrible" strategic thinking, a new political analysis contends.

MSNBC columnist Steve Benen argued Thursday that the U.S. avoided a government shutdown — for which Trump repeatedly and strongly lobbied — because Republicans were once again unimpressed with the strange reasoning behind the demand.

"There’s a myth in some circles that the former president can simply bark orders and watch GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill obediently follow his instructions," Benen wrote.

"But on multiple occasions throughout the Biden era, quite a few congressional Republicans have heard Trump’s demands and blown them off."

Trump's most recent campaign centered on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act which would ban non-citizens from voting in federal elections — as they are already banned from doing — and make it more difficult for U.S. citizens to register, according to Benen.

“If Republicans in the House, and Senate, don’t get absolute assurances on Election Security, THEY SHOULD, IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM, GO FORWARD WITH A CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sept. 10. "CLOSE IT DOWN!!!”

One week later, Benen notes, Congress avoided a shutdown with a continuing resolution backed by 82 House Republicans and 28 Senate Republicans who ignored Trump's demand.

In his editorial, Benen links House Republican's hesitancy to follow the Republican presidential nominee's orders with a recent Politico report on Trump's ulterior motives.

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"Trump was convinced that Republicans could shut down the government, six weeks before Election Day, in pursuit of a ridiculous anti-voting law, at which point voters would reward Republicans with their support," Benen wrote.

"These were the apparent assumptions of a man who, during his presidency, oversaw a handful of shutdowns, each of which ended with Trump surrendering in humiliating fashion."

This suggested to Benen that House Republicans who continue to do Trump's bidding should take a cold, hard look at their leaders' political prowess.

"The former president’s faults are legion and well documented," Benen concluded. "But I wonder if Republicans fully appreciate just how terrible Trump is when it comes to strategic thinking."