Trump taught Republicans how to win

Chuck Schumer handed his head on a plate to President Trump last night as he surrendered on shutting down the government. After 40 days of slithering to the microphone each day with a new rant to an increasingly bored media about our favorite president, Chuck realized the futility of shutting down the government because all he did was anger the Democrat Party’s key constituent—welfare recipients—and leave helpless airline passengers stranded in city after city.

Trump meanwhile went about his life as usual, savoring every minute of his final presidency. He went to Asia and signed historic peace and trade agreements. He declared Columbus Day to be Columbus Day. He brought Big Pharma officials in to announce they are cutting prices. He golfed. He threw a big dinner at Mar-a-Lago. He paid the troops despite the shutdown.

Oh, and he kept putting sombreros on the head of Hakeem Jeffries in pictures and videos. Hakeem denounced the videos as racist and the media went out of its way to condemn it as deepfake.

Everyone else laughed and had a good time at the expense of the Dollar Store Obama.

Axios said, “President Trump and other Republican officials are spreading videos of Democrats wearing sombreros and handlebar mustaches on social media, prompting backlash from across the aisle.

“Why it matters: The references to Latino culture allude to Republican claims that Democrats shut down the government to fund health care for undocumented immigrants, an allegation that party leaders have denied.”

The reported ended, “According to a White House spokesperson, the ‘sombreros will continue until the Democrats reopen the government.’”

So Axios warned of a backlash from across the aisle.

What backlash? The Democrats have no power. They are a bunch of hapless fossils and children who cannot take a joke. In other words, they’re losers.

Oh, they won elections in blue states last Tuesday. Big Fat Deal. They are still losers and Trump showed them for who they are. Nothings.

Schumer’s leadership card expired on October 1. His seat is now AOC’s for the asking. Bernie wants her to run for president, which would make her the first donkey-faced president, cementing her place in history. She was 29 when elected. She’s 36 now and not aging well. She continues to act like a college sophomore. Bernie could get her nominated.

Trump gave Senate Republicans a tutorial on winning. They sat back and watched and took notes. With the exception of the preening Rand Paul, the senators hung together and showed the power of patience.

Trump used humor and dismissal to deal with Democrats. He granted the Cheeseburger Chef and his Sobbing Sombrero sidekick an audience. They demanded the repeal of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Trump brushed it off because they forgot one small detail in planning their shutdown: Trump wrote the book on The Art of the Deal.

He sent JD Vance out to speak to reporters, sending Republicans a message that the president could not be bothered with Democrats.

Karoline Leavitt said after the meeting, “President Trump gave Chuck Schumer and the Democrats an opportunity to agree on a common sense, nonpartisan solution that would keep the government funded and open. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats have unfortunately chosen to pick a partisan fight and shut the government down.”

Bill Clinton shutdown the White House and sent his paid employees home. Unpaid interns ran things. Chief among them was Monica Lewinsky, the human humidor. That became his legacy.

Trump made no changes in his routine. Before the shutdown, Politico reported:

The Trump administration is expecting a government shutdown come Wednesday and there are no current plans to negotiate with Democratic leadership, according to a senior White House official.

“We’re going to extract maximum pain,” said the official, granted anonymity to discuss political strategy, adding that Democrats “will pay a huge price for this.”

The comments underscore the White House’s belief that Democrats will be blamed for a shutdown and its ripple effects, which could include mass layoffs across the federal government.

President Trump did not bother with negotiations as he awaited the inevitable unconditional surrender. He’s a Rolling Stones fan. I can hear him whistling, Time Is On My Side.

Yes it is.

But he also used the shutdown as leverage to do some things he always wanted to do, like gut the deep state. The Politico story said:

“Historically, it’s the aggressor that always loses,” the senior White House official said. “And quite simply, their constituencies and their priorities are all going to get chewed up, and ours, not so much.”

The official said the second Trump administration is far better equipped to battle Democrats during a shutdown than it was when this happened during his first term.

Many Democrats believe the White House is bluffing about its sweeping layoff plans, and insist Republicans will bear responsibility for a shutdown in the public eye because the GOP controls the government.

Democrats are demanding Republicans negotiate a bipartisan stopgap spending measure. Among their asks is for the GOP to extend certain Affordable Care Act subsidies, which were expanded by Congress in 2021 and are due to sunset at the end of the year.

You don’t negotiate with terrorists—or Democrats.

John Fetterman said, “After 40 days as a consistent voice against shutting our government down, I voted YES for the 15th time to REOPEN. I’m sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, government workers, and Capitol Police who haven’t been paid in weeks.

“It should’ve never come to this. This was a failure.”

They used to say a conservative was a liberal who got mugged. Now it is a liberal who had a stroke.

* * *

Comments are open to everyone in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Marines.