, 6 tweets, 2 min read Read on Twitter
Don't really think this is right. The risk Dems face isn't that the substance of the deal will seem appealing to independent voters. Most voters won't know or care much about the substance, which is pretty small potatoes (this is hardly a "grand bargain"). bit.ly/2HmFUPk
Rather, it's that coverage of the shutdown might* be framed as "Trump is willing to negotiate, but Dems aren't," which could plausibly move public opinion on who should be blamed for the shutdown.

* I say "might" because it's not clear that framing does justice to the situation.
Relatedly, the target of Trump's press conference today is probably the media more so than Congress, and certainly more so than the general public. (If you wanted to reach a wide public audience, you wouldn't do it at 4pm on a Saturday.)
From Congress's standpoint, there isn't really anything new here. Back in Dec., Pelosi preemptively rejected a *better* hypothetical offer than the one Trump reportedly will be presenting, and did so at a time when she has less leverage than she does now. abcn.ws/2REr3o6
Add all the usual caveats about how it's Trump so…always the chance of a surprise. If he were actually offering full DREAM Act protections instead of some warmed-over stuff that's implicitly been available (and rejected) all along, would be a lot more interesting.
Last pre-speech thought: If Trump were able to *consistently* push a message of "we're willing to come to the table and D's aren't", instead of careening between 5 or 6 different messages/strategies, it might get him somewhere. Discipline hasn't exactly been his strength, though.
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