Donald Trump wants to push the wall with Mexico through by force. He therefore concedes that the government shutdown must continue. In truth, this is again about just one person: himself. This must end.
Early in life, when Donald Trump needed money, he asked his wealthy father for help. Many of the 800,000 federal workers that have not received pay for the first time this week because of the partial government shutdown do not have this option. They and their families will face financial trouble. They, the ordinary citizens, now have to take the heat for Trump’s politics.
It is a cynical game. Trump has virtually taken federal workers hostage with the longest shutdown in the country’s history, doing it for himself, for his own interests. Workers can only be paid if he gets his wall on the Mexican border. Trump has even thought out loud about the possibility of declaring a national emergency in order to force plans for his wall through without the approval of Congress. He has left the question of when or whether he will take such a step open, creating additional uncertainty for everyone involved.
This president, the gambler, only gives the appearance of caring for his people. In truth, this dispute is, of course, all about one person: Trump himself.
Me, me, me: the president wants, above all, to prove to his base with the red Trump hats that he keeps his promises. That he fights for them and goes to extremes. He also wants to secure the support of the right-wing ideologues at Fox News, talk radio, and southern evangelicals in the ongoing battle over Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, as well as in the next election campaign – if he is still president.
The Symbol of This Presidency
In this mixed-up situation, Trump continues to see the alleged crisis at the border as a winning topic for him. It is the typical game of populists: Trump offers solutions to a problem that he has himself created.
So the wall has become the central theme for Trump’s screwed-up presidency. It stands for his unscrupulous, demagogic politics, which are ultimately ignorant and unfashionable, know no compromise, stir up prejudice against foreigners and give no attention to real problems and solutions. In short, politics that are much like Trump himself: outdated, lying and bad.
Anyone that cares about the subject knows that in U.S. immigration policy, there are other things that are far more important than Trump’s wall: additional border guards, more judges, faster asylum procedures, drones and surveillance sensors and modernized immigration law, but above all, much more political and economic help for the poor countries of Central America – for Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
There Are Entirely Different ‘Crises’ in the US
Above all, America has many additional and more significant concerns. The gap between the rich and the poor, the overburdened health care system, the U.S. Armed Forces and the enormous deficit. Here crises prevail, yes, even emergencies. But the president does not talk about that.
It would also be nice if Trump would finally worry about solving the trade conflicts he has created. Or the Middle East, which is still waiting for an announced peace plan. But he more or less ignores all of this. It’s so comfortable: as long as the president (and everyone else) keeps talking about the border, Trump does not have to worry about his country’s many other needs.
Trump’s lies and egocentric populism must be eliminated. This wall -– as he wants it – must not be built. This is the only way that reason can regain its rightful place in American politics, because if Trump gets his way, if his blackmail and distraction work, he will use these methods again and again. It would be the triumph of insanity.
The Democrats are well advised to firmly say no to these plans for a wall. The Democrats must use every political and legal means to contain Trump and his fantasy of declaring an emergency. There have already been many opportunities for compromise. Trump ignored them all. It’s not the Democrats that have to move; it’s him.
Nancy Pelosi and her people have a mandate for this kind of politics: the majority of voters elected them during the midterms to control Trump. You know why. This president has already done too much damage with his ego trip.
It is enough.
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