Changing Their Minds?: Donald Trump and Presidential Leadership by George C. Edwards III

Author:George C. Edwards III [Edwards, George C. III]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: History, United States, Political Science, Political Process, Executive Branch, American Government, Language Arts & Disciplines, 21st Century, General, Rhetoric
ISBN: 9780226775647
Google: Gr4lEAAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 55623590
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2021-05-21T00:00:00+00:00

Government Shutdown, 2018–2019

On December 22, 2018, significant portions of the federal government shut down and remained that way for five weeks, the longest shutdown in American history. The shutdown was provoked by the White House and illustrates the legislative miscalculation and mismanagement of the administration and the ineptitude of Trump as a negotiator.

Following a familiar pattern, the president eschewed strategic planning and preparation in favor of day-to-day tactical maneuvering and trusting his gut.103 Even before the shutdown, he lost significant negotiating leverage by declaring, “I am proud to shut down the government for border security. I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down.”104 This statement befuddled Republicans. “I don’t understand the strategy, but maybe he’s figured it out and he’ll tell us in due course,” said John Cornyn. “But I don’t understand it.”105

Then, the president dove into the fight with no clear endgame.106 On December 16, the Washington Post reported that the White House had no plan to resolve the impasse. “That’s me with my hands up in the air,” said Cornyn. “There is no discernible plan—none that’s been disclosed.”107

There was little coordination with his party. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan left the Capitol at the beginning of the shutdown, neither making an effort to back up Trump with news conferences or votes that would demonstrate commitment to the cause, the normal course of action for the president’s Capitol Hill allies in the periodic shutdowns since the Clinton administration. Republican leaders did not even convene conference calls of the rank and file to map out a strategy to defend Trump.108

The president found that his arsenal of bluster, falsehoods, threats, and theatrics were inadequate in negotiating with seasoned legislators. He met with Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer at the White House on December 11, 2018. What was supposed to be a private meeting ended up being partially televised, which Trump thought would be to his advantage. He called the leaders by their first names and did his best to bully and belittle them. He taunted Schumer, telling him, “You don’t want to shut down the government, Chuck,” referring to a brief shutdown in January 2018. “The last time you shut it down, you got killed.”109 Schumer was not moved.

Trump tried to undercut the Speaker’s position by raising questions about her job security. “Nancy’s in a situation where it’s not easy for her to talk right now,” he said, appearing to allude to Pelosi’s struggle to garner the votes to be elected speaker. It did not work. “Please don’t characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting as the leader of the House Democrats who just won a big victory,” Pelosi shot back.

It is no secret that negotiations are best done in private. James Madison remembered that in writing the Constitution:

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