Editorial boards across the country have spoken: Donald Trump is responsible for this disastrous government shutdown and are demanding he finally take some responsibility and work with congressional Democrats. See below:
MassLive: “Trump made this problem. The outgoing Congress was well on the way toward passing a spending plan to keep the government fully functioning — until the president, bowing to pressure from the right-wing rabble-rousers, the radio talk show bloviators, refused to go along with the plan.”
The Press Democrat: “President Donald Trump is responsible for the shutdown. The author of the ‘The Art of the Deal’ is insisting on $5 billion for a wall along the southern border and, so far, has refused to negotiate. He couldn’t get the money when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress. And, as of Thursday, the Democrats are the majority party in the House of Representatives.”
The Journal-Courier: “What is essential is that the White House and its Republican allies make up their minds. The president has jabbed Democrats for failing to reach out during the shutdown. Yet he scuttled the original budget deal, to which he agreed before hearing from critics on the far right. More, the president has made a mess of his position.He long insisted (without any basis) that Mexico would pay for the wall. Now he has driven a government shutdown to see that Americans pick up the tab.”
New York Times: “In one characteristically empathetic post, Mr. Trump sneered that ‘most of the people not getting paid are Democrats.’ While this divisive, evidence-free claim tells you everything you need to know about this president’s hyperpolitical approach to his role, it most likely failed to impress the hundreds of thousands of families across the political spectrum who are suffering as a direct result of Mr. Trump’s grandstanding.”
Antelope Valley Press: “All told, about 800,000 of the 2.1 million federal workers nationwide — or more than a third — are affected in some way. If the shutdown continues, nearly half would remain home without pay, while the rest would stay on. Many people live paycheck to paycheck. So how do you pay the rent, buy groceries and fuel when there is no paycheck … all of a sudden? It’s a cruel way to run a country.”
Denver Post: “There is no one to blame for this shutdown but Trump and his erratic demands when it comes to immigration. He has been inconsistent, asking for one thing only to change his mind when Congress presents him with the offer.”
The Salt Lake Tribune: “Those who do wish us harm, or simply wish to slake our limitless appetite for illegal drugs, will find ways over, under or around any barrier that we can build. The real threat to America is the ongoing shutdown of the government, along with the president’s threat to close legal border crossings, all of which promise nothing so much as a major economic slowdown.”
The Akron Beacon Journal: “Yet, more than anything, the president must recognize where his wall stands. It isn’t the most effective border security. Until he gets there, the shutdown will bring more unnecessary disruption to ordinary lives.”
San Francisco Chronicle: “Polls show that more Americans blame Trump rather than Congress for the impasse. Rightly so: The president not only declared himself ‘proud’ to take credit for the paralysis in an infamous televised exchange with Democratic congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. He was also prepared to sign a stopgap spending measure until right-wing talking heads began raising a ruckus about his capitulation on funding for a border wall (the one Mexico was supposed to fund).”