First, I remain opposed to the President declaring an emergency. I think the President should consider that the very same people now advising him to declare an emergency are the ones who encouraged him to rush into a shutdown without a strategic plan and then didn’t back him up.
Campaign mode Trump is the best Trump for stuff like this. The President has polling that shows people in swing districts blame him for the shutdown, but also support the border wall.
I think the President should not declare an emergency because I think courts will use this opportunity to expand their power and will issue an injunction. I think the President should not declare an emergency because I think it sets the precedent of future presidents declaring emergencies when Congress balks at doing stuff. Even Barack Obama was not so bold, but a future President would cite President Trump’s actions to engage on climate change, etc. It is a terrible idea.
What the President should do is be Donald Trump. Get on the campaign trail. The President fought the shutdown fight with both hands tied behind his back staying in Washington, D.C. while Democrats flew all over the country and to Puerto Rico. The President did not even get to go to Mara Lago. And what thanks did he get in the press? None. The press took the Democrats’ side from the get go and, to be honest, because the President let slip on national television that he would shut down the government, he gave them the excuse to do so.
Right now, the President and his team need to realize that the national press really is out to get them on a host of fronts. There are very few political reporters out there willing to give the President a fair shake. But the President does have good arguments to make for a border wall.
I would suggest he skip the Fox News love fest and put in some time with Chuck Todd, Jake Tapper, John King, Wolf Blitzer, or other fair minded national reporters and reiterate that the Department of Homeland Security does want money for upgrades, repairs, and expansions in urban areas. Be honest that the President wants more than the DHS ask. Explain why. Yes, they will push back. That is their job. But the President needs to make his case outside Fox to national reporters who are not out to get him or driven by agendas. By only talking to Fox, President Trump is not only not expanding support for his issue, he is also not setting himself well for the aggressive 2020 race. Being with Margaret Brennan on CBS’s Face the Nation is a good start (Editor’s Note: The President will sit with Ms. Brennan on Sunday). But don’t stop there. Meet the Press has huge numbers and drives conversations. Jake Tapper is highly respected and works constantly to be fair.
Next, the President needs to get out on the campaign trail. Leave Washington. Campaign mode Trump is the best Trump for stuff like this. The President has polling that shows people in swing districts blame him for the shutdown, but also support the border wall.
President Trump needs to go to those swing districts and make a simple case: he will scale back the wall to just what DHS has long said it wanted and what Democrats have long said they supported. He needs to spend a lot of time with local talk radio in and around those swing districts. Call in to local talk in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Missouri. Heck, call me in Atlanta if you want. I’ll let the President make his case into Lucy McBath’s district.
The President needs to spend time with local reporters in local markets. Give them attention. Most of them are far more conservative than the national press corps anyway and far more in touch with their districts.
President Trump spent the shutdown shut in in Washington. He needs to get out on the campaign trail and stretch his legs. He has the winning argument on border security. He and his team need to stop relying on others, including Fox News, to make his case. He needs to do it himself on the road in front of large crowds.
He has three weeks to make his case. I believe he can do it if he sets his mind to it.
