Any hope that Donald Trump may intervene on behalf of the Republican Party leadership to keep the government running can be tossed away after White House insiders admitted the president thinks the GOP has a winning hand with voters, according to some analysts.
As the shutdown looms at the end of the month, the president has refused to meet with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Sen Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and he is now doubling down on his intransigence.
In an interview with Politico, a White House insider boasted, “We’re going to extract maximum pain,” on the opposition party and they will “pay a huge price” for the shutdown that will force the government to grind to a halt.
Politico’s Dasha Burns is reporting, “Many Democrats believe the White House is bluffing about its sweeping layoff plans, and insist Republicans will bear responsibility for a shutdown in the public eye because the GOP controls the government,” with a Trump aide stating, “Historically, it’s the aggressor that always loses. And quite simply, their constituencies and their priorities are all going to get chewed up, and ours, not so much.”
The report notes that Trump dismissed entreaties to work out a deal, with a member of his inner circle, claiming, “He read all the s--- they’re asking for, and he said, ‘on second thought, go f--- yourself’.”
The White House is betting Democrats will feel the pressure and won’t hold out “very long,” with Politico’s Burns adding, “Democrats maintain that Trump must change his strategy if he wants to keep the government open, noting that any funding bill needs their votes to clear the Senate filibuster.”
That led one Republican to respond, “We’re bracing for impact.”
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