Day 368: Trump Apparently Believes He’s Furloughed During Government Shutdown

There’s no other explanation for his total inaction.

With the government officially shut down for the third straight day, hundreds of thousands of federal employees are sitting at home, watching TV, wondering when it will end. Despite not being furloughed, Donald Trump is doing the exact same thing, spending virtually zero time on hammering out a deal.

Trump has largely limited himself to lounging and taking potshots at Democrats on Twitter.

In the 56 hours and counting since the federal government has been shut down, President Trump hasn’t held a public event and isn’t scheduled to have one today. He hasn’t spoken with reporters or even left the White House. And he hasn’t been a real player in the negotiations to reopen the government.

Bottom line: Trump, who campaigned for the presidency on his deal-making skills, has been missing in action.

He did squeeze in time to shoot a video for his wealthy donors, however.

“I had to stay here in DC, which I’m becoming pretty proficient at,” he told wealthy donors in a video played at the Florida fundraiser he was supposed to attend on Saturday evening, but couldn’t.

“We had to stay here for the purpose of shutdown,” he continued, standing in a corner of the White House Rose Garden wearing a black overcoat and a white ball cap. “There shouldn’t be a shutdown, but there is. It’s caused by the Democrats. But we’re going to end up winning another victory.”

At this point, he isn’t even bothering to hide that he’s watching TV all day.

Trump is content to largely sit on the sidelines, shouting things into the abyss that have not helped the process. For instance, in one tweet, Trump yet again demanded that the Senate get rid of the filibuster, a tool effectively used by both parties for 50 years. Republican leaders quickly shot that idea down.

Republicans have largely let him run his little games, such as the staged photo of him “working” at his desk with nary a piece of paper or pen in sight.

The government shutdown has largely started because of Trump’s waffling on a number of key issues. The shutdown will end in a day, a week or a month, but it will have little to do with Trump’s negotiating process or involvement.

368 days in, 1094 to go

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