Trump: You want to put that on me? I’ll take it. You know what I will say? Yes – if we don’t get what we want one way or the other whether it is through you, through a military, through anything you want to call, I will shut down the government. And I am proud to shut down the government for border security because the people of this country don’t want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country. So – I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down. I will not blame you for it. The last time you shut it down it did not work. I will take the mantle of shutting it down. And I am going to shut it down for border security.
Here it is in print
January 24th, 2019 | Politics Blogs
3 comments ↓
LOL. That statement is from a month ago. An eternity for Trump. He can stake out a position and change it before he takes another breath. After a month, he’ll have taken as many positions on an issue as he has talked to people in the Oval Office…or listened to people on Fox and Friends.
I posted it for two reasons:
1. The first is the one you mentioned — no matter how much time goes by there is no denying this is what he said.
2. The second is to bring context to the polls that ask who is responsible for the shutdown. The ignorance of those who blame the Democrats is obvious. (Ignorance is the first of the six vices of the uneducated person.)
You’re right. Trump lost the fight when he made that statement before the fight even began. With that high profile statement, the public always blamed Trump for the shutdown. That public opinion made it easier for Pelosi to stand strong. Even though Trump later tried to shift the blame to the Democrats, it was already too late. Ironically, he took responsibility to sound tough. When he caved, he made himself look weak.
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