1/ My take. There will be no wall and no shutdown. Trump's talk about a border wall and shutdown is not about policy, it's about narrative. It's not about outcome, it's about brand. It's not about legislating, it's about the mid-terms. It's not abt progress, it's about attitude.
2/ Don't dignify his talk as anything more than rantings of a desperate man, in over his head, fearful of looking weak, knowing by now he'll never get his wall, trying to preen as king of the hill, willing to break the china to show he's still the bull.
3/ Stop treating this as a real threat or a real policy proposal. Trump wants to gin up his base w xenophobia and racism cuz he seems to gets that the tax cut isn't working and wages for his base are down, while the GOP's wealthy donors laugh all the way to the bank.
4/ Anything to keep the midterm conversation from a focus on declining wages, crumbling infrastructure, rising healthcare costs, budget deficits that threaten retirement security, etc. Anything to keep Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Breitbart from criticizing him as going soft.
5/ What should Dems say? "There he goes again. Talking about a wall that the American people don't want and Mexico isn't going to pay for. He's changing the subject from the bread-and-butter issues we care about, dividing and distracting us, because he cares about himself not us.
6/ We need new leaders who will fight for stronger healthcare, investments in education, rising wages and an unwavering commitment to Social Security and Medicare, not politicians who point fingers and blame others. We need leaders who will bring us together and get things done."
7/ So every time you hear him threaten a government shutdown over a wall, say to yourselves, 'there he goes again; trying to divide and distract us; we'll show him who's boss and what's important this November.'''
