If you have never had the pleasure of either meeting or working with THE BOSS (as he likes to be called) I can tell you that their has never been - or likely never will be - a more calculating politician than the Senate Majority Leader. Like many in power, he has an enormous ego, long memory, and little tolerance for those that cross him or make him look foolish.
That said, I watched his short floor speech on Saturday and was able to see exactly what he was doing in spite of what he was saying. In a nutshell, he stated the "party line" regarding the need for Trump's wall while carefully omitting the fact that he wholly supported the CR that contained no money for the Wall. You remember the CR don't you? The one that Trump "crawfished" on after getting heat from Ann, Rush and company. This marked the SECOND time that Trump had backed out of something that he had told McConnell that he would support.
He also quite artfully removed the Republicans from the shutdown issue and put the onus of resolving the shutdown on the Dems and Trump. Given his political shortcomings, I doubt Trump even realized what McConnell was doing unless a Trump staffer explained it to him. Simply put, Trump has no idea what he wants beyond what he isn't going to get. Until he can tell somebody what that is, McConnell will stay clear and let Trump bumble and fumble his way through this mess while trying to shield the Republican party the best that he can.
If the shutdown goes into next year, which it likely will because Trump wants the fight, then the McConnell controlled Senate will pass whatever he gets from the House and we will then see just how truly scared of Ann Coulter Trump really is.
Trump's tendency to "bail" when he gets any criticism has forced many lawmakers (Both Dems and Republicans alike) to declare that they will not support any measure unless Trump PUBLICLY states that he will support it. Thus reducing the chance that Trump will once again "lose his spine" in the face of criticism.
That said, I watched his short floor speech on Saturday and was able to see exactly what he was doing in spite of what he was saying. In a nutshell, he stated the "party line" regarding the need for Trump's wall while carefully omitting the fact that he wholly supported the CR that contained no money for the Wall. You remember the CR don't you? The one that Trump "crawfished" on after getting heat from Ann, Rush and company. This marked the SECOND time that Trump had backed out of something that he had told McConnell that he would support.
He also quite artfully removed the Republicans from the shutdown issue and put the onus of resolving the shutdown on the Dems and Trump. Given his political shortcomings, I doubt Trump even realized what McConnell was doing unless a Trump staffer explained it to him. Simply put, Trump has no idea what he wants beyond what he isn't going to get. Until he can tell somebody what that is, McConnell will stay clear and let Trump bumble and fumble his way through this mess while trying to shield the Republican party the best that he can.
If the shutdown goes into next year, which it likely will because Trump wants the fight, then the McConnell controlled Senate will pass whatever he gets from the House and we will then see just how truly scared of Ann Coulter Trump really is.
Trump's tendency to "bail" when he gets any criticism has forced many lawmakers (Both Dems and Republicans alike) to declare that they will not support any measure unless Trump PUBLICLY states that he will support it. Thus reducing the chance that Trump will once again "lose his spine" in the face of criticism.
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