Trump Feeling Alone in the White House

Daveda Gruber

Trump Feeling Alone in the White House

by: Daveda Gruber

On Monday President Trump urged Democratic leaders to “make a deal” on border security. There doesn’t seem to be any compromise lurking to end the partial government shutdown.

The lawmakers countered back on making a deal with saying that mixed messages from the White House are “making it impossible to know where they stand.”

I really do not believe that Trump and Democrat leaders will do anything until after the holiday week and quite possible the shutdown will go on until into the new year.

This actually pleases me. The bill is in the Senate and it would be nice to let the new incoming Senate to handle it.

Trump has stayed in the White House and he seems to be entertaining himself with Twitter.

Trump tweeted:

I’d gladly keep the president company and just talk politics. I don’t want him to feel sad. I was indeed happy to see Melania Trump stepping off Air Force One late Monday to be with her husband for Christmas.

It was me who wrote in an article that stated that the shutdown would have a better chance in the new Senate. Now it seems others have picked up on my idea.

Mike Pence had made an offer on Saturday to Chuck Schumer for an initial 2.5 billion for Border fencing and $400 million for additional border security.

Democrats still have it in their heads that they don’t want to give up the money because it would make Trump look good on his making good on campaign promises.

What else do they have to run on in 2020? Their campaign’s issue will be making Trump look bad.

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney is also the budget director. He said that he was waiting to hear from Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer about a counteroffer that the White House presented to Schumer over the weekend.

Mulvaney wouldn’t say much but he did indicate that the offer was between Trump’s $5.7 billion request and the $1.3 billion Democrats have offered.

Mulvaney said, “We moved off of the five and we hope they move up from their 1.3.”

On Monday Democrats complained that they don’t know what Trump would actually accept.

House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a joint statement, “Different people from the same White House are saying different things about what the president would accept or not accept to end his Trump Shutdown, making it impossible to know where they stand at any given moment. The president wanted the shutdown, but he seems not to know how to get himself out of it.”

The House and Senate went into session for a few minutes on Christmas Eve day before closing again with no further action as the gavel went down.

Senate negotiators are continuing talks behind the scenes with Democrats and Republicans.

I guess quite a few people, including Trump, are not spending Christmas with family and friends.

The White House said Trump was meeting Monday afternoon with DHS Secretary Kristjen Nielsen and other department officials “to discuss border security.”

Trump blamed the Democrats for the stalemate in a tweet:

Mulvaney said that Wednesday is the first day the public could begin to feel the effects of lost government services.

Mulvaney has predicted that the shutdown could go into January. Democrats would assume control of the House at that point.

He said, “It’s very possible that this shutdown will go beyond the 28th and into the new Congress.”

No one mentioned that the Senate would be more secure as new Senators take the place of Jeff Flake, and the late John McCain.

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