Donald Trump is an idiot, but over the years he has learned that he has a much higher tolerance for chaos and disruption than other people. He has also learned to weaponize that trait by creating so much chaos and pain that others will surrender and give him what he wants. 1/6
He’s like a spoiled four-year-old in a supermarket checkout line, pitching a hissy fit until Mom or Dad buys him the candy bar he sees on the rack. He’s doing it because he knows it works, and he knows it works because it has worked for him a thousand times in the past. 2/6
Trump’s superpower is not giving a shit, and he's using it to win the shutdown showdown. People going without paychecks, parks overflowing with trash, government unable to perform basic functions … he doesn’t care, but he knows that others do: Advantage him. 3/6
So if you’re one of those who do care about the damage being done, what do you do? Do you give Baby Trump his candy bar and thus reopen government? No, you do not, because if he “wins” by taking the gov’t hostage over that idiotic wall, he’ll do it again on something else. 4/6
The responsible thing to do for those who care about this country is to swallow the short-term damage that Trump is doing to avoid the even larger, longer-term damage that would be done by giving into him. Don’t reward the brat for being a brat. Punish him. 5/6
This Congress was elected specifically to serve as a brake on Trump. That’s why Nancy Pelosi is Speaker Pelosi, to be the grownup. That’s why Dems outperformed Reps by nine percentage points nationwide. And this, right now, is where it begins. Short-term pain, long-term gain. 6/6
