President Trump, presumptive House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sparred Tuesday over the White House’s threat to force a government shutdown over border security funding.
The debate, which was messy and pointed, was done publicly, despite Pelosi’s repeated attempts to take the discussion behind closed doors.
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“I don’t think we should have a debate in front of the press on this,” she interjected at one point.
Pelosi added later during the same discussion, “Well, again, let us have our conversation then we can meet with the press again.”
Later, toward the end of the debate, she suggested a third time that they go private, saying, “Let’s call a halt to this. We have come in here … in good faith to negotiate with you about how we can keep the government open.”
The going narrative in the press now is that Trump greatly hurt himself and the Republican Party by claiming he’d take full responsibility for a government shutdown (should it come to that).
“If we don’t get what we want one way or the other, whether it’s through you, through a military, through anything you want to call, I will shut down the government, absolutely,” the president said. “And I’ll tell you what, I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck, because the people of this country don’t want criminals and people that have lots of problems, and drugs pouring into our country.”
He added, “So I will take the mantle. I will be the [one] to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it. The last time you shut it down it didn’t work. I will take the mantle of shutting down, and I’m going to shut it down for border security.”
Whether this hurts Trump remains to be seen. His hope is that, unlike Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or federal budget squabbles, “border security” may be a broad enough issue for voters to support a government shutdown.
What seems more certain than the narrative alleging Trump hurt himself by taking the “mantle of shutting down” is that Pelosi will come away from Tuesday’s meeting looking not great.
I’m having a difficult time finding the downside to leaders from opposing parties publicly debating policy in a spirited but civil fashion. You want a good example of democracy in action, how about the image of party leaders publicly and freely disagreeing, without fear of death, bodily harm, or imprisonment? We should have more public discussions like the one held in the White House on Tuesday, not fewer. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and all that.
Pelosi’s repeated insistence on going behind closed doors to discuss an issue as big as border security only invites the question: Will there be cigar smoke? Trump may have hurt himself by pre-emptively claiming responsibility for a government shutdown, but Pelosi also doesn’t do herself or anyone else favors by trying to hide the debate in darkness.
