Washington (AP) — No televised roundtables with cabinet secretaries No freewheeling speeches from the Oval Office. No shouted comments on his thanks to Marine One.
Where’s the president? whereas the national is open once more, President Donald Trump has been mostly behind closed doors.
Republicans and Democrats alike appear simply fine with Trump hanging back as legislators try to work out a deal to keep the government open and resolve a standoff over funding for the president’s long-sought wall at the southern border. In fact, some lawmakers think less Trump could be an honest issue, given his rocky relationships with legislators and open criticism of his negotiating skills.
Over the last five days, Trump has had no public events.
The White House says the president has made his demands for border wall funding clear and that he’s letting the committee method play out on Capitol Hill. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity to debate private talks, stressed that Trump was “engaged at each level” on border security, together with receiving a long informing on the subject Wednesday, and has continued to urge his message out, together with doing an interview with The Daily Caller. The official added that the White House has additionally been heavily concerned at the employee level.
Democrats, for their part, are additionally pointed about the positive aspects of less Trump.
Said Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat: “When the president stays out of the negotiations, we tend to nearly always succeed. Once he mixes it in, it’s a formula for failure. So I’d ask President Trump, ‘Let Congress deal with it on its own.’”
Asked about Schumer’s comment, Trump told The Daily Caller, “I don’t blame him.” However, the president added that “without our involvement, a deal isn’t going to get done.”
While Trump has been avoiding public appearances, he’s continued shelling out his practiced mix of bluster and blame on Twitter, along with contradicting his intelligence chiefs and slamming a former staffer for writing a White House tell-all. He has additionally weighed in on the legislative negotiations, saying in spoken communication that if the negotiating committee “is not discussing or contemplating a wall or physical barrier, they’re wasting their time!”
Never able to keep out of the public eye for long, Trump is speaking up more in the coming days. He’ll do an interview with CBS that may air throughout the Super Bowl on Sunday; his State of the Union address is Tuesday, and therefore the White House is advising travel choices for once the speech is over to drive home his message on border security.
Going quietly once the fractious fight with Democrats raised questions about whether Trump was missing a chance to in public frame the controversy and push his border security arguments However, some Republicans said it was the proper move.
“I suppose it’s good for him to hold back here,” said Brandy Short, former White House director of legislative affairs. “I do suppose he ought to still be traveling to vulnerable districts to put pressure on Democrats politically. However, I feel it’s fine for him to not be in the middle of the negotiations.”
Trump’s allies additionally noted that he has been working on a range of different problems throughout this period. He referred to himself as Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guido to supply his support Wednesday. He attended a political operative’s meeting at the Trump International Hotel on Monday night. He hosted Sen. David Perdue of Georgia for lunch at the White House on Sunday.
“There’s a ton going on. It’s Venezuela, China, and North Korea. It’s not the public event stuff,” said former Trump campaign aide Barry Bennett.
Bennett argued that giving Congress some space made sense for Trump, adding, “If I were him, I would see what they offer. If they don’t solve it, then solve it yourself.”
