Trump Digs In On Shutdown

New York Times: “The television is on. The phone is never far away. And President Trump is repeatedly calling allies such as members of Congress and conservative radio hosts, telling them privately that he will not give in on his demand for funding for a border wall.”

“What the president who campaigned on his ability to cut deals has not done, nine days into a partial government shutdown over his signature campaign issue, is reach out to Democratic congressional leaders to strike one.”

“Virtually alone in the West Wing since the shutdown began, Mr. Trump has instead taken to Twitter to excoriate Democrats, and highlight that he canceled his own vacation to his private club in Florida while lawmakers left the city.”

Washington Post: “Days before the start of a new Congress — and Trump’s first experience with divided government — there were no signs of direct negotiations involving the president, Republicans and Democrats to end the partial closure, affecting hundreds of thousands of increasingly anxious federal workers.”