Thread by @MattGertz

1. President Trump is asking Democrats for a bailout.

He has created a series of situations that are toxic for him politically, and wants Democrats to help him out of them -- and throw in his top campaign promise to boot.

2. He took away DACA and TPS extensions and shut down the government, and now he's offering to return to the previous status quo.

But it's beyond just offering to release the hostages -- keeping the current situation would be really bad for Trump!

3. The shutdown is disastrously unpopular for Trump. And the DACA and TPS situation doesn't promise to become better for him. Those people are among the most sympathetic immigrants he could try to forcibly remove. That would become a political nightmare quickly.

4. Trump got himself into a jam, he wants the Democrats to get him out of it, and that's the side of the "deal" that is supposed to appeal to them. And in return, he wants the wall and all that comes with it.

5. For all Trump's talk about how much he wants the wall, he doesn't act like it. No effort to get it done in two years of unified GOP control, and now he's "offering" nothing that isn't already in his best interest in exchange.

6. Can't really negotiate under these circumstances. Open the government, release the hostages, and try to deal then.

7. The Fox cabinet is starting to weigh in. Will be interesting to see how that goes. Ingraham and Hannity seem cautiously for it, Coulter against. Matters since Fox et al triggered the shutdown in the first place. mediamatters.org/blog/2019/01/1…