The Government Shutdown Continues (Because That Is What Trump Wants)

The government shutdown has gone on for about a month now, and so far, there is little prospect that it will end soon.

One might wonder why the congressional Republicans haven't tried to negotiate with their Democratic counterparts to find a solution. After all, the rising of ACA premiums (by an average of about 114%) will affect their constituents as much, if not more than those of Democrats. And the denial of SNAP benefits, which will begin on November 1st, will actually hurt red states more than blue states. Both of those things are sure to anger millions of voters.

But the Republicans refuse to negotiate, because Donald Trump has told them not to do that - and congressional Republicans wouldn't go to the bathroom without first getting Trump's permission.

During past shutdowns, presidents have either put pressure on Congress or encouraged comprise to end the stalemate. Not Trump. He even left the country during the shutdown.

That's because Trump likes the shutdown and will let it continue for as long as possible.

While the shutdown continues, Trump is the government. He can basically do what he wants without Congress intervening. In fact, Speaker Johnson (a Trump sycophant) won't even call the House of Representatives into session until the shutdown ends (or Trump tells him to do so).

And the shutdown lets Trump hide his bad economic numbers on inflation and jobs - since he has suspended government data reports while the shutdown is going on.

Trump will finally have to end the shutdown, but it won't happen until the angry blowback from voters is too much to ignore. That may be a while though, because right now Trump is enjoying it.