Trump reduced to playing 'survival politics' to get to 2020 election after Pelosi humiliated him: GOP strategist

In a look into what drove Donald Trump to take the bold -- and controversial step -- of declaring a national emergency to grab billions of government dollars to fulfill a campaign promise of a wall on the southern border, a GOP strategist said the president is just trying to keep his administration afloat.

Speaking with the Washington Post, conservative campaign consultant Mike Murphy -- who is admittedly not a fan of the president -- said Trump is still reeling from being outplayed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) who called his bluff when he shut down the government in a failed attempt to get border wall money.

According to Murphy, Trump is trying to turn his shutdown failure “into a win by creating a rally [sic] cry for [his] reelect campaign.”

Murphy said it may play well with his most rabid followers, but it will not move voters who are unwilling to forgive his failures.

“For his core base, it’ll ameliorate some of the criticism. But it won’t help him with general-election voters," Murphy explained. "He’s playing survival politics with his own base and using the illusion of success.”

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