No matter where the Donald goes and how absurd his actions and words are there's always a Republican toadie there to stand behind him and do a Pence (looks interested and sincere, and nods his head at the right time).
This time it was 'Lyin' Ted' in a Lincoln beard.
18
On point ! Particularly the point about the volumn of outrage and screeching from the right on confiscating certain types of guns. This POTUS is so completely daft and out to lunch, and his toadies also, that it just defies understanding.
8
Just look for that river of chocolate, grab a doughnut, jump in and hope it carries you away to safety but that's a different story. While your blissfully floating to the security beneath your bed, ask yourself, "Would I give 5+ billion dollars to Donald Trump, with no strings attached, to construct something for me?" You may want to ask Atlantic City how that worked out for them.
16
Worse than Trump, if that's possible, is Mitch McConnell. He could put an end to all this in two seconds. But he is so unbelievably corrupt that he willing let his country drown just to retain power and continue to be able to reach into pockets of the filthy (literally) rich.
25
Is Trump the least self-aware person on the planet?
The nonsense that comes out of his mouth makes the United States look ridiculous. Your country has always been on something of a pedestal in the eyes of the world, but that pedestal has been truly demolished. What Trump and the voters who supported him have destroyed in just two years will take a generation to rebuild.
18
Ah, yes. Traitor Trump in another photo op surrounded by some stooges in their Halloween costumes, and yes men. They should be at the ports of entry where the displayed loot comes in. The fact that they're not being paid doesn't bother me in the least.
2
To be honest, I no longer care if hoards of people are crossing our border and entering our country. Let them come. I'll give them a sandwich. What I'm sick of is Donald Trump. Sick of his lies, his ignorance, his ego, his red necktie and that baggy suit he wears day after day. Sick of his obstinacy and his willingness to harm thousands of federal workers' families just to show he's a tough guy (which we know he's not, cause we've seen him simper and grovel in the presence of real tough guys like Putin and Kim Jong-un). Right now, I'd trade 100 Guatemalan migrants for Trump, no problem
30
We now have the longest government shutdown due to one reason. The ego of our president. Trump is a solipsistic narcissist. Caving to or supporting his myopic view will only feed him and not the country.
The public must speak up and demand that they represent the country and not the delusions of a mad man.
2
Give Trump the $5.7 Billion to go away!
2
Thank you for helping Democrats once again prove they put America last. We need more unskilled uneducated illegal aliens like we need another unfunded endless war.
My friends and family despise Trump - but we’ll be voting for him again rather than voting for Democrats who want to make America the world’s refugee camp.
Trump Making America Great Again??? Hardly.
Every day Trump is president, he is making Putin and Russia stronger and the United States weaker, more untrustworthy, meaner, and a ludicrous joke (not as in funny ha-ha, though).
We are all held hostage in Trump's Rabbit Hole now.
7
Gail!, you forgot to point out that Mexico did NOT attempt to shoot down the US military aircraft flying back & forth over Trump during his photo-op at the border.
2
Donald Trump has no idea who Harry Truman was and doesn't care because he sees all Democrats as the enemy and has no understanding of “the loyal opposition.” He recently said that he’d rather deal with a Chinese autocrat than with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. Wow.
4
I heart Gail Collins. Thanks for the chuckles.
3
Good thing he’s so self destructive. Imagine no tweeting, & no name calling... he could have actually done more damage and fooled more people. This will end one way or another and it will end up a world celebration.
2
Also wondering how is the base doing, since I can no longer talk to my former friend, who is Russian/Jew, just like me.
Curiously, she proved to be one of the most ardent supporters of this debased president, needless to say we couldn't talk to each other anymore.
Is the base still strong or is it tearing at the seams.
3
The saddest part of the Trump Clown show is that there are so many absurd and destructive actions reported daily that most of America has become immune to the shock of what this miscreant and his minions are doing to destroy our democracy, subdue our humanitarian outrage, and undermine the security of our nation as well as that of our global allies and the health of our one planet. May be suffer a pox and be removed SOON!
4
Any discussion about Trump needs to begin with the obvious fact that he is almost certainly insane.
One cannot authoritatively call him insane absent a professional psychological evaluation. However, he exhibits the behavior of a person suffering from various mental maladies.
5
Now that Donald has the greatest shutdown ever in the history of America, he should be willing to concede.
He only wants the best. Maybe NanChuck can offer to gild the fence.
Scary comparison: my boss is a lot like Trump. No, my boss isn't Trump. My boss ignores, deflects, rattles a saber once in a while, show cases good work by others, steals ideas and sits in her office typing something "important", usually with a lot of typos and grammar errors. Her superiors know. They've been told, shown evidence of her malfeasance and after seven years she is still there. Fortunately, with Trump, in two years we can throw the bum out and start anew. But, voters must know what they want in a President: stability, creative thought, integrity, and so on. Trump's bluster is a sure sign of him being out if his depth. A buffoon. Clown.
3
President Trump is demonstrating the same self-destructive behavior that characterized his plunges into financial bankruptcy with his casinos and other failed business ventures. Now, he is doing likewise with our republic as his intended victim. I implore the US Government to stop his reckless folly as he proceeds along his renewed self-destructive path. Further, call him out as a traitor to our country in the service of Russia. Enough of this madness!
4
I imagine some future Ronald Reganesque president of Mexico loudly pronouncing "Mr Trump, tear down this wall."
2
"whether his sniffling was from hay fever or nerves."
or crushed Adderall....
4
If you don't take a furloughed worker to lunch, you can donate to food banks and food banks for pets as well. Somebody has to be the adult here and it certainly is not DJT.
3
I hear that in Amsterdam there are bookies taking bets on trump’s presidency — how long it will last, whether he will be impeached, and other variations. Maybe it’s time for a European vacation.
4
Trump says "the buck stops with everyone". This is just one more example of his feckless governing, for which Trump will not take responsibility. "Governing" is an oxymoron for what the Trump administration has accomplished. We have a president, who spends much of each day watching TV, ranting on Twitter or "huffing and puffing" at Democrats. None of this moves this nation forward, assists or safeguards one citizen or inspires any confidence, that we will survive the Trump administration with our democracy intact. We must remember that Trump can behave this way because we allow it. It's time to act against politicians, who have forgotten that they work for the American people ... Mitch McConnell, I'm talking to you.
7
Lordy, I admit, I am exhausted.
And so grateful that I live now In Australia. Here, we only have to deal with parliamentary debates about poisonous cane toads.
3
Not sure if America can survive with corruption so thoroughly accepted in our government.
There is a minority that is destroying the country, and it is the rich.
5
In the featured photo, Trump looks like he's leading a revival meeting only the church elders are packing large caliber firearms. "Right this way, people, to the River." Welcome to America 2019!
2
January 3rd I woke up more relaxed since the Election in 2006. I know that I shall feel even better if I wake one morning to learn that Trump has died suddenly. Pence with a brown T on the tip of his nose is no great shakes but he plays by the rules.
Trump's "Rabbit Hole" is less mysterious once we realize he's working for Putin. Everything suddenly makes more sense, and has its own internal logic.
4
To use and old phrase, this writer "Hit the nail on the head." BRAVO!
1
While it is clear to me that Trump is a senile ignoramus, and may have illegal dealings with the Russian government in one way or another, I'm still trying to puzzle out what kind of spell a right-wing commentator such as Ann Coulter has been able to cast over him. Is it because he firmly believes that she represents (and influences) his base, and her criticisms of him could drag his popularity down? Does the obstinance over the wall serve to create and maintain a distraction in the news, away from the Mueller investigation? Is it because he truly wants the wall (for vanity, or other reasons)? All of the above? Given how easily he flip-flops on issues, it's odd to observe how his passion for the wall solidified so quickly.
Whatever it is, the Republican Party doesn't understand how his mind works or how to influence him, any more than the rest of the population does. I think that personality profiling should be carried out on all the people who have previously demonstrated some deep, persistent influence over him: Conway, Hicks, Coulter, Bannon (for a time). Maybe Ivanka, Melania, and Stormy, although to a lesser extent. My impression is that there is some confluence of loyalty, sexual attraction (or the possibility thereof), and ego-stroking involved- especially with regards to the women.
2
As much as I enjoy Ms. Collin's, it's been difficult to laugh since 2016. I am the parent of a furloughed Federal employee and the situation is affecting her health.
Let's not forget McConnell and the GOP's role in this horror show. To paraphrase FDR, McConnell should live in infamy. Not only is he an obstructionist, he is as useless--and dangerous as--Trump. Both are vile.
6
One can only guess what Truman's reaction to trump would of been but I would imagine it would have something to do with hands around a throat. The gun analogy is just about perfect though I am sure it would be wasted on the Fox people. There is no sense in Mudville.
If this approach works, then Trump can use a shutdown for anything. He becomes King, and Democracy dies. His recent switcheroo on the meaning of “Mexico will pay” needs to be emphasized, loudly.
3
It's always something new with this guy I would even want over as a guest much less as president..,. A while back I had knee surgery & I was told that when I was coming back from anesthesia - I have no recollection - my first words were "Is he impeached yet?"
4
Mad Hatter... I had been searching for the doppelganger role that Trump's reality TV personality seems most like. Yes he is.
Trump is a dangerous man and he is taking this country down. He has, literally, shut down the United States and seems to want to be able to keep doing that at his leisure and a negotiation tactic. But ransom demands arent negotiation tactics. That's what terrorists do. We should all be seriously worried because this shutdown is an indication of things far worse to come. For two years he had majority and the moment Democrats win he decides there is an urgent crisis at the border. He has shutdown the US government as a result; to be spiteful and because he can and also because causing pain and suffering is the goal, Dictators always love to hurt their own people the most. He is so lawless and has so little regard, if any, for our form of government that his Administration has violated every law it can to continue this cruel and senseless shutdown, including illegally reclassifying non-essential employees of the Treasury and IRS to essential in order to get free slave labor out of them, so it lessens the pressure on him, so he can continue his abuses.
If people think this shutdown is JUST about federal workers not getting paid as opposed to a shape of far worse things to come, then they are in for a rude awakening. The shutdown means there is NO US GOVERNMENT. The government is collecting YOUR taxes for nothing, the government is closed.
6
When is McConnell going to start acting like he represents a third branch of government instead of a puppet of the Executive Branch? Hold a vote to open the government with funding for border security but no big cement wall. I suspect it would pass with enough votes to override the Traitor in Chief's veto.
6
Once again Gail nailed it.
1
" ... Trump just goes babbling along ... " Indeed, chutzpah trumps credibility and character. (No pun intended.) Even more shocking is the willingness of ~40% of Americans to buy his lies. And Mr. McConnell's many abuses of power, most recently letting the POTUS decide what the Senate can vote on.
3
Trump's shut down of the Federal Government is as useless as it is vindictive and it is close to impossible to think of something to say that has not been said somewhere or by someone else. The only political mechanism for getting out of this impasse is a vote on a budget by the Senate. Why has Mitch McConnell refused to allow such a vote? This is the witching hour. Has McConnell dug himself into a strategy that is a grotesque debasement of political process? If McConnell's refusal to let the system proceed is allowed to stand, then there is something very wrong with the system.
3
At least Trump can brag about having the longest government shut down in history.
Everything Trump does looks good if you're Putin. America's devolution into fantasy conspiracy, self-evident falsehoods and the clear corruption of law can only be an unimagined victory for Russian/enemy interests. Can one imagine any greater success than having the entire array of authenticity of institutional protections - FBI, CIA etc. called seriously into question? The truths held 'to be self-evident" are no longer self-evident and chaos has hold of reality. This is a crisis unforeseen by the founders. Down the rabbit hole indeed!
1
Here is a proposal: Get the new mexican president to invite Trump for a discussion on how to finance the wall. Trump accepts (he doesn't get invited anywhere nowadays). It might take some time to make a deal. In the meantime fill in the missing parts of the border wall, barrier, whatever. Close the border. Noone gets in or out. 100% safe.
2
Gail,
Great peace. The tipping point for the President is approaching. He has put himself in the 'rabbit hole' and he can not get out.
Next , we can say that he is just having a 'bad hair' day. I am waiting for the hair to launch into space. The hair moves in as many directions as his twitter feeds and arguments
Keep us posted Gail.
1
If this situation with the president and the wall were not so very tragic for so many people, in another universe, it would be funny; however, alas, it is only tragic this man who was elected to protect our country is destroying it bit by bit by not only his actions, but by his minions dismantling regulations designed to protect our water, food, land, air and safety. He has proven yet again he cares only for himself and his enormous ego...to the detriment of the country.
6
The rabbit hole was dug by the FBI and the Dark State. Today's article in the Times regarding the FBI investigation of Trump has this sentence in the 9th paragraph: "No evidence has emerged publicly that Mr. Trump was secretly in contact with or took direction from Russian government officials." I fear for our country that senior unelected officials can begin an investigation of a newly-elected president based on nothing. We all heard Trump say during apublic event that he hoped the Russians would release Hillary's emails - the ones that Hillary lawyers David Kendall and Heather Samuelson - without security clearances and with no official standing - reviewed and destroyed. Who didn't want to know what was in these illegally destroyed emails? Kendall and Samuelson should be prosecuted and disbarred. Yet Trump's statement was used as a pretense for opening an investigation. We should all be scared - even those with Trump Derangement Syndrome.
1
I came up with the term "WRECKING BALL" for Trump and I like it. He is many things, none of them good or helpful to US citizens despite his claim he is interested in us. He is also one of the worst men who has ever served this country.
2
Trump is the moral equivalent of a kidnapper who says, if you're not getting your child back, don't blame me; it's your fault for not paying the ransom demand.
As the nation's Chief Executive, the President has a duty to keep the county -- and, in particular, the departments and agencies of the Executive Branch -- running. That duty supersedes any policy objective he may have, regardless of its merit (or lack thereof).
A wall to keep out what we are becoming.
Gosh, but I am getting tired of all the winning. Just like Trump said I would.
I just thought that somehow it would feel better.
1
Trump's entire persona revolves around his willingness to "talk back" to anyone, anyone, anyone, no matter who they are. For Trump the best defense is a good offense, since it keeps people from demanding to see whether he can read aloud, add simple sums in his head, or recite basic facts about how the government works. He can't. He only knows how to be rude to people.
3
I really wish some of the op-ed columnists at the NYT and some of the smart people writing these responses to their articles were among the correspondents who get to ask the questions at various press ops. Most of the ones asking the questions on camera seem far too easily distracted or intimidated. 90% of the questions being asked are softballs or off point. For just one glaring example, has anyone heard a correspondent press Trump or any of his people about why he lied to the troops he addressed in Iraq about pay raises? He told them they hadn't had a pay raise in 10 years but he was going to give them a 10% pay raise. He should have been hammered about those lies, which simply disappeared under the next clutter of lies. Yes, we know Trump is nasty to people who ask real questions and you have to be brave to ask them, but isn't that part of the job?
10
I've finally figured it out - Trump is 100% 'id' (instinct / immediate gratification). His psychological development was stunted and he has little 'ego' (reason / reality) and no 'superego' (morals / judgement). Add to this his learning disability (can't read), and we have a truly dangerous guy in the most powerful role on earth. If we impeach, Pence will pardon him and his children. I'd prefer to see him have to be accountable, for once in his life.
24
Our immigration problem is real. While Trump calls it a crisis, even Schumer admits that it is a serious problem. And countless years of failed negotiations makes it clear that the dilemma is persistent. Moreover, Ms. Collins ignores the fact that, while the number of illegals has decreased, the number of Central American refugee families has skyrocketed, presenting all kinds of new problems.
The worst distortion comes from Trump, of course. He spreads exaggerated fears by claiming that there are countless murderers among the illegals. But Democrats lean to amnesty and seldom acknowledge that 1,000 or more illegals enter the US every day, a level of lawlessness that has to be addressed.
While Trump exaggerates the harms with shades of racism, both Democrats and Republicans tend to downplay the thousands of deaths among the illegals themselves, caused by harsh border conditions and unscrupulous coyotes.
Of course, the US is not the only country with border problems. Some European countries treat refugees humanely. But 77 countries have built their own walls. There simply is no consensus about what works.
There are tens of millions of refugees around the world, and most are not welcome in wealthier countries. The problem is big and the answer is elusive. Ms. Collins laughs about the wall and the reduced crime rate along the border. That is frivolous. Our immigration problem is not trivial and not funny.
4
Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Schumer should be reminding the public over and over that Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress had every chance to resolve the wall issue the previous two years when they had full control of the federal government. So why did the Republicans do nothing? Because they know polls show the wall is unpopular. By waiting to deal with the issue now, Trump and Republicans can scapegoat the issue by blaming Democrats. Even most Republicans should realize this but they have chosen to be blind to the truth like their fearless leader. What Trump considers a national emergency is really just a personal political emergency to keep his base (a noisy minority of Americans) that wants the wall. Once again, Republicans show they completely lack an ability to govern and lead.
23
It is important that the Democrats are standing firm in their refusal to fund the wall, but instead are standing strong on passing legislation for funds to make our borders secure, sans the Trump wall in any form. A reminder that the United States has a policy of not negotiating with terrorists who hold Americans hostage. So it makes sense that the Democrats are refusing to give into the demands of the top US terrorist, the President, who is holding 800,000 US citizens hostage and is threatening the safety and security of all American with his shutdown - insisting on some form of wall or nothing. Reminder Mr. President - the United States does not negotiate with terrorists. Let the hostages go.
20
@TR NJ Not negotiating with terrorists holding hostages is a profound analogy and by no means merely metaphorical.
1
POTUS has the right to call an emergency in the USA; however, not the right to fabricate one. The irony is that even his fabricated emergency has now lost its fundamental quality by delaying it to see if Congress can resolve it.
7
There are just under 3 million total federal employees (incl post office, enlisted, etc.). The DC area (based on my quick googling) only accounts for 30% of them. After the DC area the greatest % by capita are in red states such as Texas, Alaska, Montana, Arizona, South Dakota, Louisiana, etc.
After this debacle my guess is that these are 3 million people who won't be voting for Trump in 2020; & just as he won by the electoral college, he's going to lose by it too when all these employees vote blue (including the 200,000 of them in Texas).
10
@BP It seems logical but I wouldn't count on it.
1
Alternatively, imagine that after Obama announced that he would veto any bill that didn't include his plan, Mitch McConnell decided to follow article 1 section 7 of the US constitution and he and the rest of the Senators, Republicans and Democrats alike, put together a bill which allowed the government agencies to be funded and function but postponed Obama's plan for a few months to allow time for rational discussions and decisions. Mitch McConnell then sent the bill to Obama who decided to veto it. The bill then went back to a Congress which overrode Obama's veto.
3
Always love your article!
In this troubling, your sense of humor is an excellent respite.
3
Imagine if every time the adults in the house start fighting, the kids would get no dinner.
That is as obscene and "wonder-land-ish" as the concept of government shut down.
The first, urgent task on returning to business in Washington is to change the system to make it rational and more secure for federal workers.
3
If Trump ever gets his wall it will be the end of "government of the people, by the people and for the people." It will become with malice for all and charity toward none. I've waited a long time to write this and Gail Collins column provided my opportunity.
29
To quote Dan Savage, "Impeach the xxxxxx-xxxxxx." Trump is trying to sell us a wall we don't want while he grovels to please Vladimir Putin. If impeachment is so hard, why don't they try indicting him. Enough is enough!
18
Here’s a fence proposal I would happily support:
Tell the sculptors of America that we will let 50 of them design and build 10 foot long stretches of sculptural wall.
Give the winners a budget, plus fabrication and installation assistance, plus transport to the installation site
That will make 500 feet of an environmental art sculpture for the winning designs.
13
It's always fun to talk about how Republicans would react if President Obama had acted in a way similar to Trump...in this case concerning the issue of gun regulation. Certainly he would have been impeached...and convicted...post haste!
Of course, the reality is that Obama would never have possibly acted that way, because he is simply NOT. and never could be, that kind of man.
While the various explanations of how Trump managed to maneuver himself into the Oval Office (i.e. fear of demographic change, economic vulnerability, actions of a hostile foreign power) can provide some insight, they have never seemed completely adequate. There must be something more. How this country took such an abrupt head-spinning turn from someone like Obama to someone like Trump is still something of a conundrum which future historians will have to sort out.
The Trump administration often does leave me feeling like the country is falling down a rabbit hole. Pray God we will be able to find our way out again.
22
If we can just hang in there for another 2 years, not impeach him but refuse to reelect him, and THEN bring the full force of the Justice Department and NY State on him and his family we can show the rest of the world (and ourselves) that our system of government works - that we can course-correct when we realize we have made a terrible mistake and retake our place as a model of democracy on the world stage.
15
As a music teacher, I feel insulted.
8
Thanks for the humor. You are right if Obama did something like this for gun control the GOP would have had him impeached.
McConnell and Pence just go right along with Trump, probably because they are either afraid of Trump or more they will lose money from their rich donors. They also like Trump, are not putting America first.
4
When someone said "Truman," Trump thought they meant Truman Burbank, the lovable star of the "Truman Show" with Jim Carrey.
Anyway, I've often thought about how Republicans might react in a reverse situation. "Hypocrisy" as a word seems both too polite and outrageously inadequate.
I haven't yet discovered the appropriate alternative. I'll let you know when I do.
9
Regarding the, Wall, polls show increasing concern, among Democrats as well as Republicans, over the problems posed by increasing illegal immigration pressures, a problem well-known to other industrialized societies. Over the long term, Trump has a good chance of winning on this issue. Over the short term, Americans don't like government shutdowns, and whatever Trump is or isn't, most of the American media are hostile to him as exhibited daily in news stories that are really very biased, sometimes childishly so. This has been noticed; so we'll see how it plays out over the long term. Something else occurred to me: What is happening when a large part of a society daily seeks to destroy its elected leader? This is sabotaging your own governance. Will the results produce remorse in the ruins?
1
When said leader is sabotaging or country it is required. that is why we have checks and balances.
8
@John Corr
On the contrary, John. I think it's our "leader" who is trying to sabotage us.
1
@John Corr
You join trump and his cohorts in conflating reasonable border security with his wall. Besides being technically, logistically, legally and financially infeasible trump's wall would not deter the bad actors and drug smugglers we are all concerned about. It would seem most Americans would concur as the majority do not support trump or his wall. The polling, if anything, is drifting against trump's favor.
As for your concern regarding the "daily attacks" on the president I am reminded of another Trumanism: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
Calling out the president when he facilates, prevaricates and outright lies is not an "attack." It's a responsible search for truth and accountability. Traits foreign to this president.
2
Former mayor Bloomberg said it first (and probably better), so I paraphrase. Donald Trump spent his working life bankrupting his and other companies, he's going to bankrupt the country. I am truly worried about the future of this once great country. Nothing good can come of this.
23
What a wonderfully funny piece. Thanks for making me laugh, and please keep entertaining us.
10
James Joyce once had his fictional alter ego, Stephen Daedalus, say “History is a nightmare from which I’m trying to awake.”
Joyce was thinking about the history of Ireland, of course, but right about now I think all Americans can appropriate his thought and make it about the United States.
14
Why are commentators shying away from stating what appears to obvious; that Trump is mentally ill and that he should be examined and removed from office for that reason if nothing else.
32
I keep hoping that Trump, in his insolvable dilemma to preserve his fragile narcissistic ego, will see that he can’t. At that point he will go into a red-faced seizure like Rumplestiltskin and suddenly just disappear.
What a nice fantasy.
13
@Phaedrus
@Phaedrus: Indeed, we have Trumpilstilskin leading the free world. I have long wondered why, with his frequent meltdowns and rage attacks, he has not had a massive stroke that removes him from office, quickly and easily. While we'll still end up with Pence, it would be for a short time until 2020. Is Trump, unknown to him, being medicated by those closest to him to keep this Joker going?
Fellow democracy-lovers, here's a homegrown remedy to cure your despair in 3 easy steps. Guaranteed to energize you, fill you with hope, and restore your faith in humanity:
1) Crawl out from under your bed.
2) Make a sign. Your slogan can be as simplistic as you like: Dump Trump, Ditch Mitch, Fence Pence, I Like Turtles but the Evil Tortoise Must Go!
3) Get out there on January 19 and join the march!
15
This president expects or maybe just wants to be reelected in 2020?
3
Not attempting to broaden his base assures failure. Good thing!
Trump should seek asylum in China, a country more "Honorable than Chuck and Nancy". China already has the Great Wall and we would be rid of the disaster currently sitting in the Oval Office.
18
And no extradition treaty!
And China has no illegal immigrants?
Whether Trump ends up in jail or as the first US monarch, the fact is, he's doing what he set out to do - destroy the government of the United States and the morale of it's citizens and government workers. Agencies with hundreds of unfilled jobs, unfilled ambassadorships worldwide, foreign policy, domestic policy at the whim of a possibly compromised, unqualified, incompetent, unread, mentally unstable narcissist. A needless government shutdown that threatens our air travel, food and water supply, economy and health and well being of our citizens red and blue. We all sit rapt, alternately terrorized, entertained, horrified, disgusted. The fate of our nation resides in the amoral inaction of a political party that has no regard for the well being of out nation or it's citizens. History and our future will not be kind if we don't remove this cancer from our body politic now.
32
"If you don't have a sense of humor, it just isn't funny." Wavy Gravy
I forget which appearance it was but one of his talks in front of a camera was just babble. If one of our aging parents had sat down and started babbling so incoherently they would be swooped off to the doctor and put somewhere safe.
While Lindsey Graham encourages him to go nuclear by engaging in extra Constitutional actions and McTurtle encourages him with his "stoic" silence.
I take some solace in the fact that the republican party has finally been exposed for the antidemocratic/fascist party it is. They have fully eclipsed the old Know Nothing Party by becoming the know nothing, see nothing, do nothing party of d.j.t rump.
Then I get depressed again because the vast majority of US
don't seem to be paying attention or care.
22
Whatever else can be said of Putin, it has to be acknowledged that he was playing a very cagey game in helping to bring about the election of the worst President in American history.
His memoirs, if they are ever published, deserve to be entitled,“The Art of The Deal Times Fifty.”
10
How to end the shutdown or at least get Trump out of the White House:
Speaker Pelosi arranges for all White House maids, butlers, cooks, gardeners to be laid off like so many other Federal workers. First time Donald has to make his own bed or find the fridge on his own, let alone fry an egg, he'll either climb down on the shutdown or flee.
Either way, we all get a little payback.
21
"Meanwhile, your best options near-term are either to get together with friends and drink heavily, or crawl under your bed and assume a fetal position."
Or both.
2
In a prison interview years ago, cop killer Bobby Augusta Davis was talking about en encounter with Charlie Manson in the exercise yard at Folsom Prison in California. Asked what the other prisoners thought of Charlie, Davis said:
"He was weak and he was puny, but he had a gift for gab that just wouldn’t stop…and he was a manipulator as much as anyone I’ve ever seen in my life."
Sound like anyone we know?
11
@Paul Wertz
This brings me to the sadness I feel for the rustbelt, rural "left behind" Americans who saw Trump as the president who would not only recognize them as left behind and disregarded by the so-called elites (himself included), but bond to him through the sheer need and love of reality television entertainment. He struck a chord with a downtrodden part of our country and simply ran with, like the evil snake oil salesman he's always been.
If the republicans wish to save their souls, their party and their jobs, I suggest they go back to their respective bases and explain--clearly and honestly--the real truth of who this malignant president is and how they and everyone else had been taken for a horrid ride into a downward spiral of American Last; Trump First. Nothing can really change unless the republicans see what might happen to their own futures, this nation's future unless they are brave enough to tell their base the truth of what is really taking place Right Now.
3
Wait till next week. Apparently, Gail wrote this piece before the FBI counter-investigating Trump story broke. The rabbit hole is very very deep. Some people are saying. It could be the deepest rabbit hole in political history. You'll know you've reached the bottom when you think every lie Trump tells is so bad it's just a joke. If you want to know if a wheel is really older than a wall, just ask Wilbur Ross. He was there for both inventions.
5
And not even covering the hypocrisy of democrat 'obstructionism'. The universe runs on irony. One of your best ever, Gail. Cheers.
1
Donald Rabbit strikes again. Holding federal employees hostage, destroying lives for a Wall ransom while Mitch McConnell and his Senate Republican hooligans are complicit. Our government at work. Remember them in 2020!
7
I love this picture, can anyone tell me where those bales of grass were seized. Where they seized from the backs of people walking across or from cars? What is carried over the border is pittance compared to the thousand pound loads of cocaine that come in by fishing boats; tankers; airplanes and tunnels, all which avoid the wall. Can someone remind the Chief Felon that much of the opioid drugs come in from the Far East, can only spell China or are manufactured here in the United States. But here is the root of all of this is the fact that America loves their drugs, no love no market!!! So maybe it is time that this great land of ours got their act together!
3
"He won’t even admit where the buck stops! Do you think that’s because he’s just incapable of accepting responsibility or because he doesn’t know who Harry Truman was?"
Both. But I also believe that this president lacks empathy, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's a sociopath. There are only downsides to having anyone like this occupy our highest public office. I'm reminded of a speech President Obama gave last September, in which he brought up Trump's unpresidential, offensive remarks regarding Charlottesville: “How hard can that be? Saying that Nazis are bad”
Trump is incapable of fulfilling his constitutional oath. He is and always will be about self-gratification and enrichment. Trump, the would-be authoritarian, is unfit for office, but McConnell continues to enable him — at the expense of security, democracy and the well-being of citizens. Do your job, Mitch.
7
From under the bed: I’m really scared!
How can the Republican Party allow President Trump to destroy the United States of America and everything good it stands for in our Western world? Imoral!
3
Thoughts and prayers for the President. Where's the National Wall Association when you need it?
3
My husband and I have regular little discussions of what will finally be a bridge too far and make him go away. My arguments is always that his ego is too huge to admit defeat and we're stuck with him until something truly awful happens. My husband thinks that he will do whatever it takes to protect his kids. Then I see him floating Ivanka's name to head up the world bank and go "oh, never mind."
212
@jgrh I am convinced that if DJT was reduced to a choice between saving his own skin and throwing his own kids under the bus, he'd choose the latter. The man has absolutely none of the human virtues. Not one.
15
@jgrh define " truly awful"
5
The moment for me this week is when Trump answered “no” when asked if he was aware of Manafort’s meeting with Russian oligarchs. He answered “no” the EXACT same way he did on Air Force 1 when asked about the payment to Stormy Daniels.
He pauses, stares straight ahead, and chirps out a fast “no” with his lips puckered as if he were giving a kiss. And then there is the look of fear in his eyes that he will be caught in his lie.
I’m sure if his kindergarten teacher is alive today, she wouldn’t be able to count the times she dealt with the same act.
394
@Tom Jones
I was thinking the same exact thing.
Trump has a different technique of lying on the campaign trail from when he's caught lying red handed about potential legal matter.
If you were playing poker with him, and he did something like this, you'd know he was holding a loosing hand.
9
Is this not political terrorism?
"Terrorism: the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims."
Britannica: "Terrorism, the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective.
Terrorism has been practiced by political organizations with both rightist and leftist objectives, by nationalistic and religious groups, by revolutionaries, and even by state institutions such as armies, intelligence services, and police."
15
The "Mad Hatter" has expressed the view that people outside the US were laughing at us before he happened along, and that he alone has fixed that.
I'd like someone to organize an international "Laugh at America Day," and make a video tape of non-Americans laughing, laughing like they've never laughed (at America) before.
Gail, if you were to champion this idea, it just might have a chance.
9
Good column pointing out the absurdity of the Trump Presidency. But as your paper’s current story about the FBI investigation into whether Trump is a Russian asset makes clear, it’s time to stop worrying about the absurdity and worry about the treason.
20
There's another dynamic to the "negotiations": I believe that one reason Trump is so reluctant to give in is the same reason so many conservatives seem to hate Nancy Pelosi. Unfortunately, they and their base also seem to "see red" with some other prominent politicians such as Warren and Clinton:
They're women.
I believe that part of the reason Trump and many of his supporters refuse to back down is simply that they cannot tolerate the thought of being defeated by a woman.
21
@Scott Cole
Yes, and yet while Trump pretends to be tough on TV (actually a needy coward) he melted under criticism by Ann Coulter.
Trump wants taxpayers to fund his $5 billion wall to protect him from Coulter’s belittling
17
It is not exactly the first time Trump has ever stiffed a worker. His record of bankruptcies, refusal to pay for work done on his buildings, taking tuition from people who attended his phony university and got nothing in return, and the record of fraud by this guy now extends to all of us, with federal employees and contractors suffering the blunt of his childish behavior.
Voters will be reminded in 2020 about this shutdown and who caused it. They will also remember it was the GOP, led by Mitch
McConnell, who refused to vote to end the shutdown because Trump said he wouldn't sigh the legislation. Have they never heard of veto over ride?
16
I always love reading Gail's column in the morning for a good laugh--which is what we need in this time of so many things to worry about. I am feeling sick about the government workers who are without paychecks--and our National Parks that are being invaded by people who are leaving trash and not respecting the laws of the parks.
4
Does anyone actually believe that a wall on the southern border would not only be ineffective, but cost much more than the proposed 5 billion and a total boondoggle, be held up in court battles for years and forever a symbol of incompetence and demagoguery?
7
"Go ask Alice" is the only way to describe what is happening.
2
He has no clue who Truman was, but I bet he knows all the names in the Duma.
5
You may or may not agree with Trump, but the larger problem for all America today is the death of democracy by thousand cuts and this shut down stunt is the latest. If Donald Trump really wanted a wall he could have easily gotten the money from various other funds/defense budget which is more than 700 billions. 5 -6 billion is not even a drop in the bucket. But the whole politicization of this issue for political gain and holding the entire country hostage to please a small voter base is unprecedented. That this can happen at the whims of one individual- no matter how powerful speaks volumes about the state of our so called democracy and the complete lack of leadership, cowardice and impotence of the opposition democratic party and the populace in general.
8
I wish this visit to Trump's Wonderland would end, if only I could wake up....
Or maybe I'm in Oz, and Trump is the charlatan Wizard behind the curtain? Again, if only I could wake up, like Dorothy. I'd even be happy to be in Kansas again, if DJT were only a dream.
I'm not pinning my hopes on Mueller or the FBI. If there were really a 'smoking gun', we'd know by now.
A constant accumulation of misdemeanors means as much as one 'smoking gun', legally, but not to most of the American electorate, and so the Senate will never act on a Bill of Impeachment. I really doubt if the House will vote for one, anyway.
Now, if only I COULD sleep through the next two years, Gail.
well written. what a train wreck. i think the space under my bed, dust and all, is appropriate respite!
my favorite moment/quote of the week is... “Why do you think wealthy politicians build walls, not because they don’t like the people on the outside, but because they love the people on the inside.”
There is nothing like a good sense of humor! Thanks Gail I really appreciate it.
1
Strange that no one is blaming McConnell. He is getting a pass just like he did for Merrick Garland. If the senate votes to open government and the president vetoes, the veto will be overturned and the government can reopen. So senate republicans should take the blame for continuing this shutdown. The senate has become a useless appendage in this crisis due to its leader, Mitch McConnell.
14
Stopping pay for Air Traffic Controllers, TSA screeners and furloughing FAA safety Inspectors!
Wow, this President is sincerely worried about the "security" of the American people!
Stable genius with the Best Brain.
10
There are over 190 countries in the world. To any body's knowledge does the government ever shuts down in any one country, besides US ?
4
Seriously, I'm not sure Trump is going to make it to 2020. Listening to his symptoms and looking at him, that guy displays congestive heart failure. I don't care what he paid his doctor pal to say about him. It's not just his dementia that's doing him in. His heart is on its last legs.
7
This , of course, assumes the presence of a heart. Reliable sources indicate that it’s just a black hole bent on the destruction of light and hope.
1
Mammoth mayhem endured over a "speck". Because that's his veracity state. Convultions endured for what? Feels like song--
There's a speck on the flea on the tail on the frog on the bump on the log on the hole in the bottom of the sea
Trump is very scary. He needs to be monitored 24/7.
1
The angries who "wanted to tear it all down", 40% of the voters, are getting their wish. Many Americans are already suffering under this prez and his repub enablers and more are surely to follow. Easy to tear down, hard to build up. But repubs make sure the rich right wingers get their money's worth.
3
"Meanwhile, your best options near-term are either to get together with friends and drink heavily . . ."
Replace "drink heavily" with "inject each other with heroin" in this sentence, and tell me if you still chuckle. Every day, people die from doing both. A more insidious poison than ethyl alcohol could not be imagined.
Adults who choose to use this poison should be brutally honest about why they do, and the consequences of abuse. They choose to use it to become intoxicated and the consequences of abuse are social dislocation, disease, and death.
Other than that, yeah, Happy New Year! I always look forward to Gail Collin's writing, she is a great writer and humorist, and this piece hits the nail on it's absurd and ludicrous head. I'll take my wet blanket with me now.
Pence/Trump-a marriage that works when madness rules both.
3
@That's what she said
MSNBC just showed a brief video of Trump and Pence disembarking a plane together. It immediately made me wonder, did Pence throw out all of his other ties and keep just the red ones?
When does Trump Fatigue become an official medical condition?
Or, is it already?
6
"...it is known that during his brief reign, Caligula worked to increase the unconstrained personal power of the emperor, as opposed to countervailing powers within the principate. He directed much of his attention to ambitious construction projects and luxurious dwellings for himself..." Wikipedia
7
I would rather mention the saddest episode that occurred this week. There were nine people attending a town meeting televised on TV last night where eight had lost sons and daughters to illegal immigrants. Their stories were compelling and convinced me more than ever we need that border wall. They criticized Nancy Pelosi for calling our Illegal immigration situation a manufactured crisis. Each vehemently stated that is was very real and were furious at her for not taking this seriously.
Some had called Nancy Pelosi to state their cases to no avail. She was either unsympathetic or would not take their call. They all wondered how she would feel if she had lost a loved one to an illegal immigrant. Would she still be against that wall? It was also mentioned that she had a wall around her property. I guess that was alright for her but not for American citizens.
They agreed wholeheartedly with President Trump's wanting a wall. They said their children all in their twenties would be alive today except for these illegals who had no right to be here. Some had been murdered others had been victims of an intoxicated driver but they all had one thing in common. They lost dearly loved ones and the Democrats did not seem to care. Many of these illegals had committed crimes before and had other violations and yet they were never deported.
These families lost their children and will never see them again. They only had pictures and memories. This must end now.
32
@WPLMMT
You do realize that thousands of Americans have lost loved ones to legal citizens, right? Legal citizens drive drunk, commit murder, and do other bad things.
You make it sound as if ONLY undocumented immigrants do serious crimes.
A crime is a crime, no matter who commits it.
Arguing for the wall because of the bad people that might be keep out carries the exact same weight as arguing for no wall because it has let so many good people in.
The reason the wall is a bad idea is because it is a very expensive security tool that does NOT address the main sources of the security problem. Undocumented migrants will still be brought into the US in airplanes, cars, trucks, etc.
Other security tools (patrols, employment verification, etc.) are better and most cost effective.
367
@WPLMMT,
This is the same kind of argument that was leveled against Irish and Italian (legal) immigrants back in the day when they were viewed as undesirables from ****hole countries. I'm sure you could find just as many casualties today of crimes involving legal immigrants. In fact, the rate of crime among undocumented immigrants is lower than for the general population. What President Trump is engaged in is scapegoating, pure and simple.
This also leaves aside the fact that the wall will not impede "bad hombres" from crossing the border. Or drugs.
254
@WPLMMT
What about Americans killed by domestic, right-wing terrorists since 9/11?
All told, researchers say at least 20 people have died this year in suspected right-wing attacks." [2018]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/in-the-united-states-right-wing-violence-is-on-the-rise/2018/11/25/61f7f24a-deb4-11e8-85df-7a6b4d25cfbb_story.html?utm_term=.9dda61ff6248
208
Failing to get the press to focus on the actual cause of this shutdown, Mitch McConnell refusal to bring up legislation for a vote.
How about focusing on Benjamin Civiletti's incorrect interpretation of the Anti Deficiency Act?!
Seems to me that Congress could have simply resolved that problem by passing a motion explicitly correcting his misinterpretation of Congress intent when they were instead passing a motion to make sure people get back pay.
BTW back pay doesn't fix credit history or any other thing lost due to failure to pay and otherwise does not fix the multitude of knock on problems these people who work for us will be facing.
Isn't it bad enough that we keep our Civil Servants so poor one missed paycheck can alter their lives for the worse permanently?!
Why doesn't the press focus on the real issue, McConnell and this interpretation of law that in essence invented the shutdown? Because constant El Trumpo coverage makes them money and that is more important to the 1% owners than doing their duty to us.
7
I heard Kamela Harris call it Trump's "vanity wall."
I like that. That is exactly what it is.
From now on, I propose that commentators should call it the "vanity wall."
281
@SRP Pelosi's beaded curtain is the best shot yet. I would love to see that take hold.
31
I find Trump's reflective analysis on every matter absurdly lacking. Then add in the fact he continually has no affiliation with the truth!
Hard to believe his supporters remain with him. Right now it has never been more evident Trump cannot relate to the plight of ordinary families as their paychecks are withheld.
4
@One More Realist in the Age of Trump
How can someone who has no idea what it's like to have no money relate to someone who lives from paycheck to paycheck?
I am painfully aware of having to live like that and you do it because you have to.
When I was injured on the job and Workers Compensation was slow to approve my claim I had to cash in investments (what few I had managed over many years) to support my family ( there was a long term illnesses in my family).
After a long slow painful recovery I returned to work and after a few years I had what I thought was the flue. I lost over 30 lbs in a couple of weeks and was admitted to a hospital.
Again I had to liquidate investments and borrow against my pension as I had another long slow painful recovery.
When things you have no control over happen it can destroy carefully planned savings and accounts.
If you have a large amount of assets then it's hard to relate to the pain and panic and suffering incurred by the horrors of no money or resources you can use. And yes I asked our Government for help and was turned down. That's a long while ago but it's made a lasting impression and fear.
4
The fear that Trump-Fox followers have is derived from 9/11 and from news media that brings us video of horrors from around the world.
Right-wing pundits earn their bread and butter by scaring US citizens with the idea that masses of dark-skinned, head-chopping maniacs are on the march (Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Boko Haram, Los Zetas, MS 13, etc.)
Of course, it is normal for folks to want reasonable law and order. But what has happened is that grifters like Donald Trump have realized that security sells. If you scare someone to death, they will run out and buy the most expensive alarm system ever invented because who wants to feel vulnerable?
Trump is our door-to-door security alarm salesman, trying to sell the kind of security that makes sense for the Metropolitan Museum of Art to an apartment dweller who really just needs a solid front door and a good deadbolt.
5
While Collins brings a very welcome, perceptive, ironic, humorous perspective to our current not-so-pleasant realities, one must nonetheless ask of her employer, why is it that they are giving the Republican Senate a free pass by continually referring to it as "Trump's shutdown?"
Constitutionally and legally Congress could stop this immediately. It is a choice Mitch McConnell and the Republican Senators are making by refusing to vote to end the shutdown, overriding a veto if necessary. By solely "crediting" Trump for the shutdown, the paper, as well as the media and most commenters in general, simply play into Trump's hand, encouraging the narrative that everything is about him. As well, it let's the Republican Senators off the hook come election time in 2020.
22
@Steve Fankuchen
It’s almost like former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D - Nevada) refusing to allow the Senate to vote on a budget fir three years, instead preferring chaotic government by continuing resolution.
Whataboutism. Completely different situation.
2
The wall is so important to Trump and Republicans that they didn’t put it in their budget.
26
"It does feel as if we’ve fallen down a rabbit hole into an alternate universe that is definitely not Wonderland."
We have fallen down a rabbit hole of the American news media's making. I look at the BBC website, which actually reports on news around the world, and there is one single article about Trump. Look at the American news media websites, and there might be one article about something other than Trump -- an exaggeration, I know. But the New York Times might better be named 'Trump Times', because there is little else it seems interested in reporting about.
Reading the column of the redoubtable Ms. Collins, one gets the impression that the only problems our nation faces are the result of Trump's policies, or are exacerbated because of him. I especially enjoy her pointing out physical traits of his that we can ridicule; that should encourage every kindergartner to want to be a journalist.
3
@NorthernVirginia
I also watch BBC and on most days they are reporting on Mr Trump and his antics as well as the rest of the antics of American politics. Just as they do for most of the world.
I enjoy that they present both sides of any report.
2
@NorthernVirginia
Amen. This sentence is a window into an entire mindset.
"Even if you really, really want Donald Trump to be a total failure hurtling his way back toward civilian life."
I'm a lifelong Dem and lefty of the Pacifica Radio variety steeped in Michael Parenti, Noam Chomsky, etc. I KNOW the problems this country has been facing as we've deteriorated into unprecedented inequality while seeing a concentration down into single digits of the corporate ownership of our establishment news media sources.
I hated George W. Bush and every thing about his administration. Despised him as I do Trump. But W. could have changed that, turned my disgust around by simply being a good president.
It's like this. I'm a sports fan. Maybe my team hires a head coach I don't like. But instead of the team failing as I predicted, my team becomes a championship franchise.
Point is, my favorite team of all is my country. I don't like Trump, but I would have preferred that his presidency not be a failure for him or the country. What I see is an ill-prepared morally bankrupt man as president, and a news media that has antagonized him into being the absolute worst version of himself.
Everything that is wrong with this country pre-dates Trump. Example. Article last week here points out the NYC schools are 'deeply segretated.' They are as well in the affluent enclaves of CA proving stunning bi-coastal hypocrisy. Is that Trump's fault, affluent and liberal Times readers? Or is it yours?
It’s disturbing that we can lose the American dream of our founding fathers so easily.
11
Thanks Gail, for this hilarious piece. Your words made laugh out loud despite the fact that I was all alone.
I just hope the nightmare we're in will be a wakeup call to finally face history and ourselves. I don't know who to blame for the ignorance of the 40 percent. I don't know who to blame for the vast numbers of people who still believe in American exceptionalism of America as the champion of democracy, of capitalism being inextricably tied to democracy.
Is it the mainstream media who fail to cover what the military industrial complex accomplishes? I don't know the details either but I've read that we have supported coups in a number of Central American countries that resulted in the violence that now causes desperate people to flee to our border. I know the NY Times has covered the bombing of Yemen with US support but it was not in time to stop it.
This knowledge is critical as is the capacity to think critically about the policies we have embraced and continue to embrace. It is critical because otherwise people become blindly "patriotic" and are vulnerable to leaders like Trump and his cronies in the GOP.
The only thing that I think will save us is knowledge and education and cultivation of critical thinking.
Otherwise even if Trump is defeated or removed, we still remain stuck in ignorance and a violent kind of patriotism that will ultimately destroy us.
13
The news that Trump has been under investigation for being an agent of Russia. either knowingly or being used, explains much. He certainly hasn't been working for the benefit of us middle and lower class Americans. And guess what, Most of us didn't go to Florida for the Holidays either.
af guess what
9
It's a question of which branch of our government is more insane? Is it the demonstrably unstable Executive who has used up all credibility at every conceivable level of the Oval office job description? Or, is it the one party that dominates the most exclusive club in the world, the 100 member U.S. Senate? This latter group is the 54 Republicans that are confronted with deciding on when to reopen our Government.
Allowing the 'out of control' commander in chief to rampage insanely through the safety and integrity of the people of the United States and its Constitutional Democratic Republic is surely more important than anything else in the current moment. No foreign invaders could possibly be poised to do more long lasting harm than this one single individual. He hashes up daily pronouncements of conflicts, mixed with a steady stream of lies and owns the longest shutdown of crucial functions that our society cannot safely proceed without for another single day.
Today, right this minute, we must demand that the government get back to fully operational status, now not wait until tomorrow. The key numbers of employees cannot work for free, remain locked out of gainful employment, or survive on garage sales, baby sitting, dog walking, nor hobbies for profit. Not for another day longer.
How many people may die as a result of overwhelmed air traffic controllers, half filled TSA screeners at airports, low numbers of active FBI agents? There's no more time left. Do it today, now!
15
The Mueller Report will confirm whether Trump is or is not a Russian asset.
Either way there is no willing Republican solution to the problem.
Buckle up for the long haul and hope there's a democracy at the end.
17
Has there been any consideration as to the security threat of having financially desperate TSAs, or air traffic controllers, or other federal workers whose jobs keep us safe? Does their level of engagement drop over time with working without pay? Are they forced to hold second jobs to make the rent? And, does someone become vulnerable to bribes in exchange for looking the other way whether it be for smugglers or terrorists?
8
These last few years have been quite a lesson in Civics haven't they? Everything is up for grabs and open to interpretation by lawyers. Who knows what the power of the POTUS and coequal branches of government is until its tested. And then tested again with different results.
Trump doesn't really believe in his own policies. Or for that matter even understand them. He doesn't care. His goal in life - his ONLY goal is to win. Very strange. It must go back to his childhood I guess.
Hopefully he's just an anomaly caught up in a perfect storm aided and abetted by the right wing media. Oh wait - there's still the matter of those 62 million Americans who voted for him (or against Hillary) who mostly still support him. They can't change - that would be to humiliating. So there we are.
6
Why haven’t the senators stood up and demanded their right to vote on the bills that have been handed to McConnell? This has given trump the ability to dominate another branch of government. Maybe McConnell needs to be impeached.
30
@Lisa
The Reps are terrified at the prospect of being primaried should they not demonstrate sufficient obeisance to The Deal Leader. If they show any backbone, their political careers are over. Party/cushy job over country. It's not your grandfather's GOP anymore...
19
In this alternative world, down is up and up is down. Someone should ask Trump to explain that to us. He would be able to make a convincing argument of this to his base, I'm sure.
5
Meanwhile, his approval rating by self-identified Republicans sits at 89% according to Gallup.
This, more than anything, defines the Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole we've gone down.
25
It's an impossible situation. If the Democrats concede, their ridicule will be for the ages. Bending down to Trump to let him do what he wasn't able to do when he had the majority. And taking part of the guilt when in the very near future this stupid wall proves itself ridiculously ineffective. Americans should stop falling for Trump's manipulations and Republicans cynicism and spineless lack of moral compass.
18
It's time for President Pelosi. He's to crazy to be president and Pence is an accomplice to this madness. It's not even partisan related at this point. He's just a national security risk now.
21
The radio report this morning starts to sound like the Iran Hostage Crisis in the way they are reporting the length of the gov’t shutdown. Twenty-two days and counting . . . This shutdown helps the Republican Party in so many ways. It especially will lose (without firing) lots of workers and shrink the government, which is exactly what they want. It makes us a lesser nation but hey, who cares? Certainly not the legislators who continue to get paid — also for doing nothing!
9
This is the best thing I’ve read all week...month....year...2 years...
8
The air traffic controllers could bring this thing to an end by walking off their jobs. The govt won't be able to hire scabs if there's no pay and couldn't train replacements because the govt's not operating. Wish they would do it.
16
Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.
1
Somehow I can not help but believe that our president's decisions are based on the quantity of flax seeds or prunes he is consuming at his breakfasts.
4
As far as surreal moments this week are concerned, how can one leave out that trump now says he never said that Mexico would pay for the wall? Along with all science, and all facts, the republicans do not believe in the invention of video tape. They just refuse to believe anyone can play back something that they said a thousand times ON TAPE!! Tape? What’s tape? Isn’t that some Scottish conspiracy to bind us to Europe?
10
The big problem with trying to imagine Obama doing anything as president comparable to little Donny is you’d also have to imagine him lying about everything, insulting everyone, and acting like a spoiled toddler with a criminal background.
There is one thing to do besides hiding under the bed - contact Congress and tell them to get to work.
If you are represented by Democrats, cheer them on and demand accountability from the administration.
Republican senators? Tell them to pass the bills they already passed before and reopen the government as the Democratic House is demanding.
Tell them Mitch McConnell is going to go down as the worst majority leader in recent history, and they’re going with him if they don’t stand up to Trump. This is their shutdown too - they own it along with Trump.
Shutting down Trump and the GOP hostage takers is job one. Let’s do it.
14
My guess is that he doesn't know who Harry Truman was.
6
So they did an inquiry. That was a big deal? This was part of the insurance package in case Hillary lost. Did they find anything? probably not .
If the wheel predates the wall, when were beavers invented?
5
My question is simple: Given the hundreds of articles in major metropolitan papers and mainstream media (as well written as this one) regarding the insanity of this man, the harm he is doing, et all (we've read and seen it too many times to count)...when are we going to do something about him? Really do something tangible? We now know the FBI has been investigating him for "treason," or something close to it. What will it take before we realize, The Emperor Has No Clothes?" We are just as insane as he is, burying our heads in the sand and hoping he will just disappear.
8
I'd take a federal worker for lunch - but only if he/she voted for Clinton in 2016. They did not deserve what is happening to them now. The Trump and Stein voters did.
11
Well said. Gail you forgot to mention( and there is so much)that the President’s advisor
( and son in law) tried to establish back channel communications with the Russians!! Had Obama done that I can not imagine the outrage from both sides and rightly so.
13
One good thing about the shutdown: when the Indian telemarketer named Mike called yesterday from the US Government, telling me I had won a grant, it was priceless to hear his response when I asked why he was working when the government was closed for business. I had never heard an Indian stammer before. Apparently his script hadn’t anticipated what had previously been such an unusual event.
8
Indeed we are in a rabbit hole if it were Watership Down.
1
In order to deal with a patient’s disease, the best way to go sometimes is to support his mental illness.
He is always looking for the largest crowd of a presidential inauguration, or the largest economic recovery in any presidential history, or the largest approval record of any president, so on and so forth.
Perhaps all we have to say is that this is the largest government shutdown in history as well and he will be happy and pick up his marbles, go home, open the government and brag that he has the biggest shutdown of record irrelevant of all the suffering caused by his ego.
This will keep him sane until the next brag comes around, one we can hardly wait.
4
Mueller is coming, and he has a 31 foot ladder.
7
If Republicans hate government so much, why do they run for office?
11
Uhm, let’s see, cars have wheels and a wheel is older than a wall . . . Says Trump
Uhm, cars usually have four wheels, does that make them four times older than a wall? Could cars be pre-medieval and a wall still be medieval?
But oh, oh, wait, fact checkers say a wall is older than a wheel!
Which wall? China’s? Berlin’s died.
Darn it, this gets mighty complicated, don’t it?
4
Many of these Congressmen will be in church tomorrow morning pretending to have the Christian spirit?
10
We are a nation of peasants so beat up, beat back, beat down by our overlords that anyone who comes on our TV screens with bluster and energy and supports our nastiest thinking or pretends to have our back is going to be way more interesting than two stiff old people saying blahblahblah whawhawhawha. Why wasn’t AOC the face and voice of the Dem response? As long as Tom Perez and the other Clintonistas are at the helm of the DNC, we will continue to be ruled by hucksters and con men. And we’ll love watching it as we swill our suds and munch our chips. This could all end if millennials voted. They could have ANYTHING they wanted: free college, universal health care, debt forgiveness....there are three times as many of them than there are angry old white guys. It’ll take that many to overcome the rigged system in place - but they could do it. Will they? Will the rest of us help?
6
This is not the most important story of the week - the Mueller investigation is totally obscured by Trump's latest stunt - Gail he has you talking about this instead of his collusion with the Russians - you've happily dived into the rabbit hole with him - come on get a grip
3
Gail, couldn't agree with you more about how Trump's missives have been a crazy trip down a rabbit hole with a range from typical political hyperbole to brazen, from the hip, lies. But the response from the media has lately crept down a similar, if politically opposite rabbit hole, many seeming to forget their position as objective arbiter in their frustration.
"Fact Checking" appears to be the main modus operandi for such reaction, allowing a media outraged by Trump's brazen lies to call out these lies, but at the same time are sorely tempted to go beyond this, acting to "fact check" typical political hyperbole or, worse, simple opinion.
Today's story; "trump-border-crisis-reality" is a good example.
Trump states that dangerous harmful drugs are entering over the border. This is countered by the NYT as being misleading because most drugs apparently come across at entry ports, not between; something he never claimed in the statement. Also, because most drugs were intercepted at ports, rather than between, it does not follow they do not enter in between in huge numbers.
There are many other examples of the opinions of NYT writers masquerading as facts, but no room.
BTW, I am certain that few of those being hurt by the shutdown think the wall is worth being left with no income. But I also would bet that very few of them think forestalling such a wall (as stupid as such wall may be), is worth it as well.
Weird moment was Trump sitting at the photo op in Texas and a CBP agent is talking about a tunnel a short distance away from them. Of course a wall would not stop tunneling but this President is ignorant to the fact if you close of one means on entry many others will pop up.
5
Please please won't you go Pinochio? How is it that one person can wreck so many people's lives?
2
Whether the wheel or wall came first, one thing historians will be able to say as fact one thousand years from now is that in the years 1980-2019 a treasonous cabal called the Republican Party tried to bring the United States of America down but failed.
13
Great writing, Gail, and I want Barack Obama back as president. Speaking of a national emergency, maybe we could get him back in the White House by declaring a national emergency?
We do have a president who is one brick short of a load, as the great Johnny Carson would say. The trouble is that trump has his core group of followers who believe everything he says and does. So while we think that trump is a loony, they think that he knows more about everything than anyone else... including wheels and walls, evidently.
If we didn't like 2018, just wait until we experience 2019. Look how it's starting. I'm sure that trump, his supporters, and trump's Fox Noise, have an entertainment lineup of stunts that will greatly surpass what they did in 2018.
And I'm eagerly looking forward to more writing from you, Gail. You get me through those tortuous weeks.
3
Since all reality revolves around Trump (in his mind) and he is determined to build the wall as a monument to himself, why doesn’t Congress talk him into a pyramid in New York, Washington, or Moscow. At least it would have aesthetic appeal. Maybe he could even be entombed in it when the time comes?
5
It's irresponsible to suggest we hunker down with a bottle of whiskey and ignore what's happening. At the very least, call your members of congress and Sen. McConnell, and demand that the government be fully re-opened.
6
@Pam. the switchboard is closed. I tried
3
@Kathy, tweet them.
I love Gail Collins. My vote for 2020 presidential draft. And while we're fixing things, why not put another statute of liberty on the southern border, say near a port of border entry? Why not have the troops put down their equipment for stringing concertina and build shelters? And protect national security by building a cyber wall around Trump's twitter feed. OK, back to putting my head in the toilet and flushing, which is where Trump and his complicit Republican senate are taking this country.
3
The republicans were in charge of both houses, the executive branch, and arguably the judicial branch. Ask why it was not approved during those two years; who's fault is the shutdown really?
7
Our country's leadership has been sputtering - but now it has completely failed and we are in a nose dive from not wanting to lose face and do the right thing.
We have turned into the country our founders warned us about.
3
Our current government shutdown is not difficult to understand.
It is all about how Trump considers his reputation as a negotiator.
This is important for his ego which has been battered in recent weeks so he is needy of a personal win.
His military school training says "IF you can hold out longer than your enemy, you Win !"
Winning is a big thing with this president.
Trump was taught by his father and by his expensive
military school that "winning" is everything!
The current government shutdown is a battle between Fred Trump,New York Military Academy,Donald Trump vs the Democratic party.
Trump will hold out longer than "normal" people because his father sent him to a military high school.
Human beings who work for our government, come in a distant second or third because of Fred Trump and Donald's "military high school" studies.
In Trump's world, "winning" is more important than the human beings.
6
Desperate times call for desperate measures. If 4 Republican Senators declare themselves as Independents who caucus with the Democrats, then the Senate Majority Leader becomes a Democrat. The Senate could vote on the House passed bills to reopen the government. Then, if Trump vetoes it, he takes clear responsibility for creating the crisis.
14
The easiest way out for us is for trump to quit with a plea deal he doesn’t go to jail, and never run for any office again. Then we can find sanity again.
2
DJT will end the shutdown when Russia is satisfied that we as a nation have been appropriately weakened, no longer have any faith in our elected leaders, and are ready to take action to discard our leaders or reshape the Constitution. Then our turmoil will be so great that Russia will reassert itself as a colonial empire mirroring the USSR.
7
Does anyone know of a fund that's been created to help unpaid federal workers? I'm seeing that over a thousand GoFundMe pages have been created by federal workers seeking help. But where is there a trustworthy fund to collect money to help ALL of them who need help?
2
You have to wonder if Trump’s wall is at the behest of Putin with the idea in mind it would result in a shutdown of our government. It fits in with Putin’s overall strategy of undermining western democracy.
7
@Rocky Keith
Actually I think it's done at the behest of our very own Republicans. They want to inflict damage on Democrats as they assume the majority in the house.
4
According to the Wall Street Journal, two Republican senator s on Friday introduced legislation that would establish a $25 billion trust fund for border security to pay for at least 700 miles of reinforced fencing, additional physical barriers and more technology. The bill would also allow DACA recipients to renew their protected status every two years.
Democrats should end the government shutdown by supporting the $25 billion trust fund but insisting that the Dreamers be granted full citizenship. They might also push for legal residents status for the parents of DACA recipients.
The weirdest thing to happen is that Trump was president for about 714 days, with a Republican controlled Congress, and they didn't pass a bill to fund Trump's wall.
Nancy Pelosi took over the House 9 days ago so why is there suddenly a security threat now, if Congress and the American taxpayers don't pay for the wall, which Trump said Mexico was going to pay for?
That's weird, and where are the pesos?
21
If you take away the Trump Derangement Syndrome, it’s obvious that the Democrats are holding America hostage to keep the President from implementing a program he has authority to implement. This is a policy disagreement, not unlike the hundreds of policy disagreements that occurred in the past.
There is simply no non-partisan reason for Congress to deny the Executive Branch this request, which is comparatively minor in comparison to the budget as a whole. There is no rational reason to believe further physical barriers will not supplement border security, and so the Democrats’ refusal to pass a budget providing the funds requested is simply proof Democrats are willing to harm average Americans to encourage more illegal aliens access to America.
1
So, @Rational Thinker...Why then did the majority Republican congress thatvwas in power when this shut down started pass a budget with his "piddly" request to avoid all this grandstanding in the first place?
Please re-register your name as "GOP Partisan." Rational Thinker is false advertising, it is no surprise you support Trump here.
Trump needs to learn that congress is a co-equal branch of government, full stop.
7
No. There are 3 equal branches of government. We don't have kings or queens in this country. Besides, he is just posturing (notice how he didn't get on the Wall Bandwagon from Nov. 2016 - Nov. 2018. Just trying to railroad the newly-empowered House. Lastly: have you ever been around a child whose tantrums are repeatedly indulged? They keep up the had behavior. This has little, if anything, to do with Democrats wanting open borders. I'm a Democrat and I want our immigration problems solved!
You know how most undocumented citizens came to be in the US, right?
7
I meant why DIDN'T the Republicans pass a budget with wall funding before the shutdown started? Should proof read, I suppose.
Trump and McConnell wanted this partisan fight.
6
Spot on! I do not expect the GOP do any thing, it is all a stall for as long as they can to push for more control for the 1%. As for Trump they will cut his strings as soon as he is of no use to them.
4
What if the Democrats called Trump's bluff? What if Pelosi said she was willing to have a vote on a bill that included funding for the wall - but that would also include funding for the Green New Deal and DACA as well? And what if she insisted that the funding come from a new millionaire/billionaire infrastructure tax?
Agreeing to fund a wall just in exchange for DACA would be a political defeat for Democrats - because it would cause them to take the blame on the left for the wall, and on the right for DACA, and let Republicans who oppose the wall and support DACA off the hook.
But if they got a tax increase dedicated to funding needed infrastructure, improved green energy - in exchange for a stupid wall that will go over budget and be unpopular and not stop the flow of drugs... whose would get blamed for that?
Of course, it's likely Republicans wouldn't vote for such a deal, but then the onus is on them to explain what they have against taxing millionaires for much needed infrastructure improvements.
Playing politics and horsetrading have gotten a bad rap, but that is how much important legislation got passed in the past.
I say fight fire with fire.
10
Adding one of my own:
They come through the desert and "they make a left turn. Usually it's a left not a right."
3
If we want to end this, Republican and Democrat leaders should call for a national strike. If THEY don't do this, all unions should walk out. When corporations begin to lose big amounts of money, this ridiculous phase will end.
4
Evil knows no bounds. Stupidity and cruelty know no bounds. Submitting to them is truly a sin and allowing them to continue their destruction is also unless opposition is immediate, forceful and positive. If you think you a Christian and support the current evil you are not a Christian you are a follower of the Golden Calf. Try talking to Jesus about it, the Calf certainly won't.
2
Gail, oh no. Don't tell me you used the words "catapult" and "wall" in the same article? I hope my president doesn't get wind of this.
2
Stop printing Trump anything. The hed of one of three coequal branches of government thrives on press, good or bad.
2
Didn’t I just read that the White House didn’t pay its water bill? The imagination confounds. Kitchen water? Toilets? Yikes...
2
You logical people are wasting your time arguing against the world accoding to Trump.
3
"Meanwhile, your best options near-term are either to get together with friends and drink heavily, or crawl under your bed and assume a fetal position." Gail Collins, pub. Jan. 11, 2019
===
Dear Gail (if I may address my fave columnist informally):
You are so rarely mistaken, but I must point out that I have engaged the 'actually best' option, as follows: Under my bed WITH the best of my friends, each of us is drinking heavily.
3
Gail... Where were you when Mitt had Trump in a cage strapped to the roof of his SUV? It was a couple of weeks ago when Mitt was driving from Salt Lake City to DC to be sworn in. Looked for your commentary every day.
1
The Wall controversy/crusade is really just a Trump re-election stunt designed as a platform to raise campaign funds. The funds will be used to fly the Donald around the country to Nuremberg style rallies. The goal and the prize is free air time on National media and local stations plus the opportunity to intimidate or promote Congressional allies all at donors expense. He has no incentive to compromise because the longer this goes the more funds are raised and the more rallies are held.
6
Doesn't it all depend on whether or not the 1% owners of the presses choose to admit that there are other more important concerns than the making of money which they have been promoting as the one and only thing that is important in life since reagan won in 79?
Moral and social responsibility outweighs the making of money but you'd never know it.
I think Les Moonves crystallized the facts of how distorted public discourse and public morality has become because of an avarice driven media when he stated proudly and without any apparent sense of exactly how vile it was, in response to a question about the wall to wall free coverage of Trump: "It May Not Be Good for America, but It's Damn Good for CBS".
He like every other person whom has been sucked into this avarstic maelstrom since 1980, has elevated the making of money over society and nation as if it were the most normal natural thing to do. As if all of history before 1980 never happened!
2
@magicisnotreal
Copied and pasted the above comment in the wrong place. Mia culpa.
But on a related topic the path out of this shutdown is crystal clear, Stop focusing on El Trumpo and focus on Mitch McConnell who is stopping the senate from voting on legislation the house just passed which is apparently the same as what the Senate passed last month!
Mitch is the one keeping the government shut down, not El Trumpo. That is a breach of his duty and oath, not that any republican cares about silly things like honor or honesty.
5
Peachydory column, Gail. Just peachydory!
1
This president is a public menace. Every single thing he does is to undermine our country, which has been Russia's goal since the Cold War. Anyone in government who still supports him must be held accountable, along with him, as (dare I say) an enemy of the people? I'm sorry, but logic cannot take me to any other conclusion.
17
Build the Wall and this all ends ...
3
Robert, if you have children, is this how you also raised them? When they whined about something they wanted your solution was to give in?
If so, the precedent would come back to bite you only in what you suggest here would would cause real world issues.
Trump campaigned as a "deal maker". So far, I'm quite unimpressed.
4
@Robert James
Impeach Trump and all of this ends, as long as Pence, McConnell et al go with him.
2
Greatest assumed power on earth brought to its knees by its own self? Maybe there is justice in this world after all.
3
I have a way for both sides to win. Trump gets his wall ... in exchange for immediately releasing his tax returns and consenting to a psychiatric examination by a doctor of the Dems' choosing.
6
You just don't get it, Gail. While it's understandable that you dislike Trump (he doesn't share your values and is crude), it doesn't follow that you should trash all efforts at border security. And, in doing so, you lose the power of your argument.
Now the truth is that you, and so many of your readers, have deluded yourselves into thinking that you're right in rejecting all border security and into claiming to welcome anyone who wants to enter the US. I think you'll all change your tune when the severe economic and social problems that accompany such unregulated immigration come home to roost. But maybe you'll have a quick joke that will make us all feel better, for a moment.
1
@Uysses Where on earth does she say she rejects all border security? Or any of us reject all border security?? You just don't get it. We reject useless stunts that will accomplish nothing for security and be a huge waste of money.
12
Can't we somehow get rid of this spoiled brat. Where is our senate? Can't we just fire them all. Or at least Mitch. He already destroyed the scotus.
5
I think every furloughed government worker who can afford it should go camp out in front of the whitehouse
1
If 800,000 people showed up outside the Whitehouse, Trump would tell his staff to Photoshop all of them into his Inaugural crowd and declare a victory.
5
Wheel or wall, The author of the wheel and wall story ignores the fact that our president knows more history than all the historians. Therefore, the proposition that the wall preceded the wheel is “fake news.” And so the comedy continues. Or is it a tragedy—I’m not sure which came first?
3
It is clearly a tragedy- I think it was Lenny Bruce who said that comedy was tragedy at a distance. We are in the middle of it...
1
"Meanwhile, your best options near-term are either to get together with friends ..." Even that may not work, invited to a friend's holiday party I was confronted (well set up by) a young relative who had voted for Trump and had the "answers" referenced in the article. I found myself leaving, in a state of panic, it was like someone had defecated on the floor and everyone was walking around the pile. Amazingly this group of possible liberals could not seem to smell it.
2
But only take to lunch if they walk your dog first.
It's easy. Put up a couple of miles of fencing and tell him we'll put his name on it.
Today, Mr. Trump continues to ruminate about declaring an emergency to build his wall but he says he is in no great hurry to do this.
Huh?
Mr. Trump, just when is something an emergency when beginning to deal with it is not time-sensitive?
If I were your doctor in an "emergency room" and you presented with the signs of a heart attack, if I suggested your care were not critical, I would be thrown off the medical staff and then probably sued by your heirs after your preventable death.
Sir, have you lost your mind or just your way? You need not respond as I already know the answer.
5
@Douglas McNeill
What? No fun cartoons and endless bowls of ice cream to eat?
1
And at the bottom of the Rabbit Hole is Lindsey Graham.
This strange, odd fellow who is just as incompetent and ignorant as Trump and who pretends he is a great advisor to Trump and gives out such grand advice that changes and reverses itself every other day!
Such a lovely Rabbit Hole, slowly destroying and swallowing our country like a giant galactic black hole.
8
With Public Enemy No. 1 in the White House, "terrorists" are sitting back and enjoying the show! The destruction of this Nation's fundamental beliefs and liberties are being undermined from within! Terrorists go home! Who needs you with a President like this?
4
"That a lot of them think it’s worth missing their salaries to get a wall."
Our local food bank has asked for donations to help TSA employees who are presently working without an income. These people are limited in the kind of help they can accept due to their contracts, and I can promise you they're not a bunch of trust fund babies who work for the fun of it. They are representative of the citizens who are hurting because they aren't part of the elite McConnell/Trump world.
7
Weirdest moment? How about Acosta showing order at a border wall apparently as evidence we don't need one.
Isn't that's like arguing we should get rid of bank vaults because the contents don't get stolen.
Why bother with a bank vault which are locked at night when banks are robbed during the day?
1
My question is where else would Trump’s base go if he were to disappoint them?
6
Trumps actions, to Federal workers, the Coast Guard, and the citizens of the USA is in essence "Let them eat cake" If Fred had just given him a history book, we might have avoided all this.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" George Santayana
How many catastrophes does it take for people to realize that
the Republican Party is a continuous disaster?
The GOP is the most destructive force in America.
5
The absurdity of this presidency is so far out of the norm that I feel as though I am living in some sort of weird alter world. A world where nothing is as its seems. Unfortunately that world, as enabled and allowed to survive by the congressional right, is very real, completely factual and our current reality. Or maybe we all are just part of a Twilight Zone episode caught in a perpetual loop.
Someone please turn this episode off!
3
Once upon a time in a history class I was half-way paying attention and there was this stuff about gerrymandering, teapot dome, scallywags, carpetbaggers, inept presidents and politicians and as a result didn't do very well. Now, I am reminded daily that history is documenting all of these events in real-time. It's not an alternative universe or a rabbit-hole, it's real life and I can't get used to the fact that nobody is doing anything about it.
I don't care what side of the aisle you're on or if you like fences, walls or moats, I DID learn that we should expect more from elected representatives and that's what life has been since 2007 when we did go down some rabbit hole and can't seem to find our way out. Then again, perhaps we enjoy watching the Mad Hatter while avoiding our own realities and subverting our energy to combat history repeating itself.
6
We as a nation are being held hostage ... period! The terrorist just happens to be our President.
The historical lessons should be clear, you don’t negotiate with terrorists. And in my opinion shutting down the government so that you can save face with the likes of Hannity, Limbaugh and Colture constitutes a terrorist threat.
Most directly we are significantly less safe as a nation, be it safety at our ports, air travel, food inspection, you name it. Trump is the terrorist.
Federal workers are being terrorized too as are the communities in which they live their lives. Again, Trump is the terrorist.
And Republican Senators in particular are aiding and abetting terrorism here at home. McConnell could end this terrorist standoff if he chose to by bringing the by-partisan resolution to a vote.
But it’s time to call this what it is.
And Never negotiate with a terrorist.
8
We live near Orlando International Airport, and on those rare days when the wind is out of the northwest, we're directly beneath the flight path of landing aircraft.
This morning, while I was trimming my honeysuckle hedge (an effective wall against my very dangerous neighbor), I observed two Boeing 747-8s turned nearly upside down to avoid a collision while a Cessna 172 danced nimbly out of the way.
Alarmed, I called the OIA tower on the off chance that the air traffic controllers there were unaware of the danger. After a 20 minute wait, I received a recorded message informing me that when the part time substitute controllers arrived, all would be well. The message also suggested that I temporarily relocate to a place not under any flight path, in case the wind direction changed.
I loaded the family into our car and set a course for Suwannee County in N. Florida. On the way through town, we were delayed by a riot between Federal Office employees and their State counterparts, while the furloughed police looked on benignly, carrying "Down With Wall! Up With Paychecks!"
During the trip up I-95, we were detained at 12 DHS check points and asked to show our passports. The DHS personnel were understanding and allowed us to proceed without showing the passports we thoughtlessly didn't bring, but during the wait to be processed through, a DHS employee sprayed the words "Walls Are For Cattle! End the Shutdown Now!" on the rear window.
We wonder if the paint is water based.
2
I always figured Comey for consciously helping Trump win by holding back what he knew along with the attack on Clinton 11 days prior to the election. This came to me after reading that other article about El Trumpo today.
Is anyone looking into whether or not the republicans including Comey knew El Trumpo is was or may have been compromised but let him be because he could win giving them the whole Gov for the first time in decades thinking they could contain him with an investigation and use the chaos he creates to screen what they were doing to further weaken and undermine our government/nation? Or has everyone forgotten the GOP's number one goal in life is to destroy our government entirely except for the police and Pentagon which I expect they will merge once they get close enough?
“I have been there numerous times.” Is he not aware that we have a record of where he has been 24/7 for more than 2 years and prior to that its easy enough to find out?
4
One more inanity to report from last week. Our historian-in-chief said something to this effect about Russia and Afghanistan. Before Russia went to war in Afghanistan it was the Soviet Union. They lost the war and then it was Russia not the Soviet Union. I honestly didn't know that's what blew the Soviet Union apart. I guess Reagan didn't need to say "Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall." Yea walls...I'm so sick of hearing about Trump's wall. No one is cheering anymore D. Trump least of all Federal Employees. A frightening thought, I have to fly in Feb. and my passport expires in March so I may not be able to flee this country that has gone off the rails.
2
Nice piece, Gail. It illustrates well the insanity and hypocrisy that are rife. It’s disheartening, though, that outside of the readership of the NYTs, quite a few are saying, “Just build the wall!” They are probably happily oblivious to the news that completing the wall will take up to $70 billion. That, plus other Republican folly (tax cuts for the rich, zapping fed worker pay, a totally unnecessary war in Iraq), would throw a lug wrench into our pursuit of happiness. How can we be happy when healthcare, dental care, prescriptions, insurance, tuition, retirement savings, etc eat all our disposable income? Where’s the money for lift tickets?
3
How many qualified and talented people will consider working for the Federal Government in the future if staying open is up to the whim of whoever the uninformed electorate has voted into the presidency. Oh, that's the point. Get that bath ready.
3
The true story is that the Republican Party, "led" by Mitch McConnell, has chosen to subjugate the Legislative Branch of our government to the whims of an incompetent, autocratic, petulant grifter, solely in order to foist the autocratic, plutocratic agenda of the Modern Day Republican Party down our throats.
This is a complete and total betrayal of their Oath Of Office.
9
@Democracy / Plutocracy,
Imagine that.
The senate is lead by a "man" from a state, kentucky, that is dead last in almost every measurable socioeconomic metric.
kentucky is a failed debtor state that relies on blue states to pay its bills for it yet a man from that loser state now controls 1/3 of our government.
The senate is dysfunctional because kentuckian parasites are dysfunctional.
It ain't rocket science.
6
Remember that nearly every Republican senator/representative is an accomplice in enabling Trump to hold the country hostage while bills to reopen government languish on McConnell's desk.
7
Here's an idea for getting the government shutdown ended: put all White House workers - military, cooks, security people, housecleaners, drivers, waiters, secretaries, door holders, etc. - on immediate furlough, with pay. The shutdown would end in about two hours! And all those people would have had the best two hours they've had in two years!
7
Unleashed federal workers are roaming the streets forming packs and becoming unpaid feral employees who will bite the tiny hand that doesn’t pay them.
6
Given Trumps history of being mean spirited, impulsive, dishonest, corrupt, petulant, lacking empathy, narcissistic and incompetent it is no wonder he would shut the government down in an effort to get his way. Blame for this fiasco lies with the republican sycophants in the Senate, especially Mitch McConnell, who refuses to bring bills passed by the House that would end the shut down up for a vote. They are in a position to end this insanity but are in lock step with a wanna be autocrat. What do they care? They are still getting paid.
7
When the Truth sounds comic (except for Beto’s teeth), we are truly down the rabbit hole. Parks Restrooms make wonderland more like sewers.
One of the most insane aspects of this shutdown and Trump's insane insistence on a border wall to "keep out" terrorists, criminals and drugs is that fact that the Coast Guard is not being paid even though they are in the forefront of apprehending drugs coming to this country and the people at the airports are in the vanguard of keeping terrorists from boarding planes into the country.
I live near the Coast Guard training center in Cape May. I also see the CG helicopters go over my house practically each day because they are called to do a rescue at sea of either recreational boaters or professional fishermen who get caught up in storms or have a mechanical breakdown etc. These people go out in treacherous weather year round and are protecting our coastline as well as our citizens in peril on the ocean. The fact that they aren't being paid like the rest of the military is beyond stupid just as building a wall along the border is beyond stupid. Currently people in our area are organizing to help the men and women and families of the Guardsmen financially through this crisis perpetrated on us by the loon in the WH.
5
Senate Majority Leader, 34 years in office, delivers hit after hit on his own loyal Bluegrass State supporters with no affordable health insurance, no infrastructure jobs, billions wasted on useless weaponry, billions gifted to millionaires and billionaires, 46th of 50 in per capita income, poisoned air and water and bravely announces his job is actually to wait to be told what he can do and what he cannot do. Amazing.
12
Wow! I haven't been able to squeeze under the bed since I was 8 years old (probably haven't cleaned there since either). So I guess I'll have to settle for drinking heavily with friends.
But Gail, you forgot the yard sales for the Coast Guard; and an obvious choice for the pop quiz, somehow oh so appropriate given Marie Antoinette's end, "Let them eat cake!"
3
Seems to me that the Democrats should read the words they spoke in the past about needing better border security, and yes, including the need for walls and barricades and appropriate the money to build it.
Trump will not be our president forever, but border security will be a problem for a long, long time. Lets build the wall, as Democrat politicians have insisted on in the past, and get on with life
4
No, absolutely not building his wall. Do you realize that the $5 billion is simple the start of something that could cost four or five times that? And that the wall will never happen in any case? Every other President realized that to spend more money the support of Congress is required. Period. And that support is not available, end of story. The real issue is that the first real set back for Trump could start a tidal wave of defections. Without his foolish supporters this guy is toast.
8
@Bill Clayton
If you were able to get past all the nose, you'd know that Democrats are very willing to increase border security and increase spending -- just not for a wall.
Why?
Because they don't work.
8
@Bill Clayton
Let's force Trump to use the money budgeted and unspent to increase border security.
What say you Bill?
4
I expect many who criticize or mock barriers are being deceptive because they really don't want anything that is effective against illegal aliens even if it means many criminals, and drugs will enter the country.
What modern non violent technology other than an intact barrier keeps people from crossing a border whether or not the government as a whole wants it to work. We don't want mine fields.
Wine and beer are ancient. That does not mean they are not still the number one dinner beverages. We know of nothing better than the wheel for our cars. The above examples are all such great solutions that they have withstood the test of time. They have been improved, as barriers have, but they remain the best solutions. A wall is the best solution when you consider future administrations may not want to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" for ideological reasons.
A barrier still works even if an administrations does catch and release knowing that the majority will not show up in court and end of staying here. You can't drive a vehicle across an intact barrier. You can't quickly dig a tunnel under it. You can eventually make a whole through it but generally not without being noticed.
I wonder if those who find fault with barriers do so because they find fault with laws that are not open border.?
3
Please do your research: current situation involves an increase in asylum seekers. A wall won't help!
4
@John,
If we got rid of all the undocumented workers, who would work at Mar-a-Lago or at president bone-spurs DC Hotel?
6
@John
Are you quoting Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity?
5
Not just air traffic controllers, but food inspectors, TSA agents and more. Looking forward to getting to the point where the unpaid Secret Service agents all call in sick.
17
Not that I don't have complete sympathy for workers who aren't being paid (I have been laid off several times in the past few years) but perhaps furloughing White House staff might bring the message home. Literally.
8
Re Trump’s gasping while reading: Could he have untreated sleep apnea? It would explain a some of his behavior. When stumping, he speaks in short, repetitive “sentences,” which allow him to inhale at each period. The sentences he read on Tuesday were considerably longer (aimed at making him sound more measured and reasonable), so his odd breathing became noticeable. We know he doesn’t sleep well, and he has several of the characteristics of the condition: age, excess weight, short temper, and poor thinking skills. Perhaps the state of the nation could be improved by a CPAP (and a little daily exercise—not golfing)—even if only marginally.
10
@By The Sea
His style of speech is a method used by bullying liars, he used to be more long winded which is also a part of that methodology.
The rest of your analysis is very accurate.
1
Please ignore the Trump show and focus on the Republicans in the new Senate, who could open up the government immediately by voting for the bills they already passed less than a month ago, and which the new House just said yes to and passed.
Perhaps those among the 800,000 government workers, and their family members, who might happen to live in/near Washington, D.C. (and who have time between Trump administration’s recommendation of such things as garage sales/lemonade stands/ barter opportunities with their landlords) can stage a sit in outside McConnell’s office to draw press attention away from the Trump show and to the heart of the problem
17
@Lynn
Good idea. And good good point.
Except that there aren't enough Republican Senators willing to come forth against this president, and then there's always Mitch McConnell...he's the real problem.
3
Fine, but they need to take votes to prove it. The Senate is just doing nothing, which to me implies that the bills would pass if taken to a vote.
1
I had likened it to Quicksand, but Down the Rabbit Hole is certainly accurate.
3
There is no plus side Gail. The real problem is the GOP - they have abdicated their responsibility to be a check and balance. They are not upholding their oath of office. It's high time they stop blaming the democrats who only recently now hold a majority in one house and start doing their job and check this president. Pass a budget and move on with the nations business despite the two year old who shouldn't be in office.
11
I don't know how it was decided which government agencies to shut down, but scientists can't just stop ongoing experiments and research (Mr. Trump wouldn't understand why), and we need our food inspected far more than we need Mr. Trump, Stephen Miller, and Sarah Huckabee-Sanders.
For sake of our frazzled nation and peace in the world, please open up all the shutdown government agencies and close the dysfunctional White House, which would include the utterly useless and highly damaging Mr. Trump.
19
Returning SCUMpf to "civilian life" would terminate the destructive chaos in the Oval Office but nonetheless be destructive to civil society. He needs to be shunted either to a very unfriendly prison or Dante's 10th circle of Hell.
5
When this psycho leaves office, whether or not in handcuffs, the whole nation is going to need treatment for PTSD.
19
Denying income to Americans.
Deaths of innocent children and the border.
Sex with porn stars at the birth of your child.
Zero done for healthcare system.
Very possible treason and conspiracy with a hostile nation.
Trump County. Still proud of your vote?
19
You may be making some good points but why is it so necessary that Times opinions to be so one sided? In life as well at The New York Times there are two sides to every story. Thank goodness all decisions in the world are not based on one sided views of the NYT.
2
@Confused
What other side is there?
I think too many conflate the right to free speech with a right to be wrong.
10
What two sides are the relative to the question of whether or not you will be able to feed your children? Oh. Okay. One side wants to feed children. One side could care less.
4
Let's all be really honest! The American Federal Union is broken. The governance of the USA has entered a stage of self destruction. As Mike Pence believes we are in the "end of times". The messiah will come to save us but to his dismay she is an immigrant. Whoops, a female messiah?? Oh, and she is dark skinned and born to muslim parents of Algerian origin in Haiti. Her mother took her to Mexico so that they could try to cross the border into the USA. She was stopped and interned at a facility in Texas and remains there to this day seperated from her Mom. She is 17 years old and is about stand before an immigration court where she performs a miracle that is so incredible that all present immediately break out in hymns praising the Lord. Soon she is featured on every news outlet and is invited by Congress to speak to the Nation. All recognize her as Jesus reincarnated. Soon she performs a miracle and turns Donald Trump into a Socialist Democrat and he creates the greatest christian socialist nation on earth by eliminating partisan political parties by executive order. The Peoples Christian Party (PCP) invites in all those that wish to immigrate and has a universal health care system the envy of all other nations by taxing the rich 80% of their income and wealth. Donald J Trump is made an apostle of the new age and Fatima de Berger is recognized by all Christians as the new Christ.
1
Oh Gail the best colum ever. We missed you.
4
Beware of a cornered rat.
7
Let's see..... some small number of illegals killed US Citizens.... Meanwhile the 2nd gun lobby has killed 50,000 US Citizens... but the GOP doesn't seem to worry about that one?
14
@Kevin Bitz
And these pointless and useless wars cause more trouble in their unintended consequences and the colossal cost in lives lost and maimed and $$$ is worse than all the undocumented immigrants ( the correct term BTW ) problems can possibly cause.
HERE WE GO AGAIN :
IF you are so hellbent on stopping the flow of undocumented immigrants, then ENFORSE THE LAWS and fine and or jail employers who hire cheap labor.
YOU KNOW farmers and wealthy people who hire servants and nannies and gardeners.
Oh wait! Coulson and Hannity don't bleat about that. If they did they'd lose their sponsors.
OOPS!
Sometimes the truth hurts but puts your focus where it belongs - on the SOLUTION to the problems.
1
"... your best options near-term are either to get together with friends and drink heavily, or crawl under your bed and assume a fetal position." Or both. Hahahahahahaha
2
This is your best column ever
3
I am sure Russia appreciates our country's shutdown.
8
Dear Gail,
This is the most frustration I've ever seen you show. Get drunk, stick pins in a voodoo doll with orange hair, and a hammer and sickle tee shirt, but please don't hit your head against the wall. We like you too, much!
2
As we who lived through Watergate (and before that, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam and 1968 and Donald Trump's election to our 45th presidency) know, we're not down the rabbit hole in an alterative Wonderland. We're in a dystopian hell for the duration of Trump's presidency, which hopefully will be gone with the wind sooner than we can imagine. Time is still of the essence and we Americans are in the bizarre grip of a clear and present danger to our Democracy -- our President! Change happens, Gail. Change is the one constant of our lives on Earth. Be of good cheer, the Frumious Bandersnatch ("Through the Looking-Glass") won't last much longer!
5
Is the wall a distraction from the other big NYT story of the day?
2
This petulant child needs a time-out in the corner.
1
His pants are beige! The horror.
5
Please don’t exaggerate. It was the jacket too.
3
thank god for gail
1
"Feel free to add your own."
Oh, oh, I have one: That image of Ted Cruz with full facial hair dressed in urban woodsman attire.
5
"Do you think that’s because he’s just incapable of accepting responsibility or because he doesn’t know who Harry Truman was?"
Of course Trump knows who Harry Truman was. Truman was one of the former presidents who called him to say he supported the wall. The others were Ben Franklin and Alexander Hamilton.
12
He don’t want no immigration
He don’t want to share control
No Pelosi sarcasm at the WhiteHouse
Hey OAC - leave the Prez alone
All in all, he just wants 5 billion bucks for his wall
8
Here's an idea from one of your northern neighbours (in fact, I read this from a reader's comment in an earlier article).
Ms. Pelosi should offer more money, perhaps as much as the $5+ billion, but with the stipulation that not a single dollar will go to build a wall. The additional funds could go toward electronic detection, more border staff including immigration judges, better conditions for asylum seekers (no children's cages - no separation from parents), etc.
This would have the effect of showing that the democrats can prove their seriousness about border security. It would also put the republicans and the White House in the unenviable position of turning their backs on significant improvements in border control should they refuse.
Just a thought...
11
I am a furloughed fed who will face a very tough challenge catching up on my work when (if?) I get to resume it. Meanwhile, I keep thinking that I work for the executive branch. Trump is doing this to his own people. I don't think he even realizes that we are his.
12
And most of his remaining supporters still want the gubmint to keep its hands off their Medicare.
2
The wall is older than the wheel, but stupid is older than both.
32
Trump believes he will win this standoff because, unlike Democrats, he is not burdened by feelings of empathy and compassion nor is Trump's reliable Republican automaton McConnell.
17
Utterly depressing. It's getting to the point that the only wall I want to see is between California and the rest of this country.
6
My favorite part of the week: the resident watching documenting video of a tunnel that was dug under the existing barrier in real time, and then moving on as if that didn't exist and never happened.
Clearly, the sniffles are due to neither hay fever nor nerves. This ex-bartender from the 80's has faced nonsensical rambling, sniffles and damp upper lips before.
7
Alice in Wonderland was at least entertaining. Trump's antics are terrifying at best. Even to his most obtuse supporter, his comments regarding those impacted by his personal shut down should get their attention. Well, that may be too much to expect. Now, the mad man we watched during the campaign is in full rant and taking us all down the rabbit hole. There must be a prison cell ready at the end of his descent.
8
I've gone from being aghast and furious to... I don't think there's a word for it.
One question - who still wants this psychopath in power? And why? Even stacking the courts isn't worth it, so there must be trillions of dollars going into some pockets somewhere to justify the risk to everyone on the planet.
13
“Even if you really, really want Donald Trump to be a total failure hurtling his way back toward civilian life, it’s not comforting to have a president who’s so out to lunch.”
Never mind civilian life.
What I really, really want is, Donald Trump to be hurtling his way toward a federal penitentiary.
12
Unfit, Dangerous, Not qualified.
7
Trump doesn’t do history- he has no clue that Harry Truman was a resolute President during turbulent times and that he played poker! He has a reputation as a champion poker player among all presidents.In poker the “buck” was a buckhorn passed around to designate the dealer.Maybe Trump should play poker so that he would learn that his pair of deuces( build a wall ) will not win against a royal flush( improve border security in modern ways). He needs to fold and open up the government.He is not holding a winning hand!
6
You say Trump is "secure in his conviction." Would that he were! Quite a number of his one-time aides and abettors are now secure in their convictions, thanks to a functioning criminal justice system. Here's hoping . . .
7
One would expect greater imagination from the greatest stable genius since Mr. Ed. For about the same amount of concrete and steel used for a dumb wall, it would be possible to build the Donald Trump Elevated Monorail across the U.S. Southern border, linking Brownsville, TX with the real Fantasy Land in Southern California. It would be feasible to suspend and anchor a curtain of electrified cable in the gaps between the support pillars. I recommend mounting large colored beads on the cables to prevent collisions by birds and bats. How's that for multipurpose, flattering infrastructure?
1
"For now, take a federal worker to lunch." I would if I could find one who didn't vote for Trump or Republicans.
7
This is such a mess we may need the wall to keep Americans IN - soon, very soon.
2
Should there be border security including a wall--I say yes. Did the democrats want it before it was Trump's idea--yes they did. The Democrats are playing games for political reasons and don't care if people suffer as long as they get to make Trump look bad so they hope to have a chance for the 2020 election.
All they need to do is say yes we believe border security is important and we are funding this wall and border security because we believe we need to protect our nation and it's border, not because it was Trump's idea. Then move on to the next thing.
You people kill me with 'okay guys, time to drink and crawl under your bed' and 'if it's dirty, hire a government employee to clean it'. How about you be responsible and clean under your own bed and while you're at it, take the initiative to help clean the national parks during the shutdown instead of drinking because your sensibilities are hurt.
Like someone else said, "At least Trump got the Democrats to do some work when they went out and collected trash this week".
2
Are there no legal contract principles being violated that federal workers can sued with?
Is there no way to turn the tables so that the harmed federal workers can hold the executive and legislative branches hostage?
We need a constitutional amendment to rid ourselves of Gingrich's monster. These idiotic and harmful hostage situations need to stop.
2
Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham are playing key support roles in this dysfunction. McConnell has decided that the Senate is not longer a participant in governance. Its pretty clear that at some point, possibly even now, the Senate can provide the necessary votes to override a presidential veto of a bill opening the government. Graham delivered a shameless encomium to Trump to declare a disaster and build the wall IMMEDIATELY knowing full well that it will do very little to enhance border security. But the ultimate problem, if the dems cave on this, Trump---our favorite one trick pony---will have a mechanism to get whatever he wants in the future. Just shut the government down. You can be sure he will use it.
10
I was hiding in my bed. I laughed so much at this that I am getting up now.
3
Trump looks like a golfer in search of a course--not like a Chief Executive dealing thoughtfully and rationally with an emergency. He should stop holding 800K federal employees hostage and tell Mitch McConnell to pretend he really is the Senate majority leader and bring a proposed budget to vote. The Liar in Chief can then veto it and hopefully the US Congress gets it that the government has to function to have real negotiations going forward to create a budget
5
I suspect the real reason Trump shut down the government was to hoard the money they would have been paid. If he keeps it closed long enough, he will have enough for the Wall. Who cares if helpless workers don't get paid? He routinely fails to pay workers, forcing them to sue. But federal workers cannot sue, apparently. He's in heaven. And the workers pay for the wall.
2
Watergate seemed to be the epitome of how low an administration would go abuse power. Oops. Apparently we can sink into a lower morass of slime and putridness because of the Trump administration. A Trump/GOP instigated shutdown because of right wing personalities haranguing the president makes you wonder who is really in control? It might not be the rabbit hole, Gail, but the pit of Dante's inferno.
6
I think Jimmy Kimmel's suggestion as to how to end this stalemate makes perfect sense:
Trump should just state that he has built the wall and that things are getting back to normal on our Southern border.
His 35% base will believe him because they obviously believe anything that comes out of his mouth. And we can start paying the people who are sworn to protect us.
Simple. Like The Donald.
9
Unlike Harry Truman, this President (and his GOP enablers) are quite happy to take that buck.
2
Trump doesn't know who Harry Truman was, and certainly not that line! The only silver lining is that this babbling POTUS is digging a very deep hole to accompany your rabbit line, Gail. And yes he's going down it for the sake of so many. What a grim joke all this is, from the beginning debates w/those other poor suckers to now when the poor suckers are greater in number than the original 16. Senators Cornyn and Cruz were there of course and the surrounding cast of characters to lend a really special farcical note to the "dangerous" border. Any who know the stats may laugh even more heartily. Yes, take a federal employee to lunch and if this joker is still around for 2020, do the right thing.
2
Gail is right, this president is a joke. Unfortunately, the joke is on us while he still golfs at our expense.
We should examine what this wall emergency is all about. Trump does not act on principle, he acts for profit, sex or spite.
The wall is an opportunity for Trump to award his allies massive construction contracts. He will let our civil servants starve in order to enrich himself and his pals.
Time for the House to investigate!
4
It's time to turn our attention away from the Trump drama and toward the supporters of Trump.
Who are Trump's base that he plays to?
Why are they so avowedly racist?
Why are these so called Evangelical Christians so untroubled by the evil they have unleashed on the United States and the rest of the world?
The Southern Baptists were formed in 1845 to protect slavery, and extend it to the new states of the American West. When it looks their efforts were failing in the wake of Lincoln's election, they started a war to maintain their right to keep slaves.
Southern Slave State Conservatives are a disease, and completing Reconstruction is the cure.
3
The best plan is to convince Trump voters that they elected a bratty, self-centered, manchild who has the ideology of a Russian oligarch. Until a large percentage of Trump's current base becomes anti-Trump, this fool is going to keep destroying our country, trade,allies and government. We really need better, meaner, terser sound bites from the media, pundits and politicians. These aren't normal rules of discourse. They're Trump rules.
4
Yes, Gail, I have fallen down the rabbit hole. It is surprising what you see down there.
1. Mitch McConnell flew home to Kentucky yesterday, at government expense, and had his luggage checked by a government TSA agent who isn't being paid by the government.
2. Vice President Mike Pence expressing outrage at Democrats who didn't support the president after he (Trump) had offered them candy in the Situation Room!
3. The gall of a Border Security agent telling Trump about illegal immigrants tunneling a hole under an existing wall.
No wonder Rosenstein is leaving.
5
"Obviously Obama didn’t have a yen for border walls."
And trump doesn't have a peso for his.
6
MAGA Hatter is insane. We all now know this. But the GOP? FOX? Sinclair? Are they all being paid by Russia?
I watched FOX for a few minutes last night after the new revelations about MH and I really couldn't believe that sane people listen to them.
It's time to bring back the fairness doctrine.
9
$5.7 billion is merely the down payment on the Trump monument to hate.
5
Not thats it's important Ms Collins but my sister in law cats sits and dog walks and makes a living at it. She even has to be licensed !
2
Stiffing workers - one of the things Trumps excels at.
5
I think most Americans are sick and tired of Donald J Trump and his incessant lying, racism, narcissism, corruption, finger-pointing, and all around outrageousness. He brought his tawdry real estate bag of tricks to the presidency. Two years later, Informed America knows it has been hoodwinked, numbed, and morally swindled.
The actions of this administrations have little in common with my thoughts and beliefs. We mustn't lose ourselves and what we believe. We are—after this foul wind blows over —all Americans!
Peace and light my sisters and brothers.
5
My take on the weirdest moment was donald trump saluting a helicopter. A photo-op that only a dotard could like.
10
I wonder why we need a Senate if the leader says he won't bring up anything that the President won't sign? Doesn't that sound like a dictatorship? I thought the Constitution established three equal branches of government. I guess some branches are more equal than others, to paraphrase Animal Farm.
Let them eat Kentucky coal.
9
My money's on: he doesn't know who Harry Truman was.
2
I think this insufferable behavior is how the saying “ It’s Donald being Donald” came to be. He seems to get a pass for everything, accept when the NY bankers said we will lend you no more money... maybe we should talk to them.
2
No matter what this president says about needing "HIS wall" for better security, nothing beats the fact that "HIS government shutdown" is causing both custom and border protection guards and transporatation security agents at our airports to either work without pay, or be "furloughed", as he continues to fly around on the American taxpayer's dime to countless photo-ops like the one in Texas, while continuing to get paid.
If anyone is out to lunch, he is.
3
If there is a shut down, it should be a shut down. No nothing. It wouldn't last long. No navy, Armed services, no airports. Just shut down. It would stop all this stupid stuff.
3
My favorite moment was when the president mocked the idea that he had meant that Mexico would provide actual funds for the wall: he made it sound as though the reporter was stupid for even thinking it. I wonder how all those chanting supporters (and who’s going to pay for it ? Mexico!) feel about being thought so stupid now, and then.
5
Gail Trump is not as stupid as he wants people to believe. Trump is however a traitor conspiring with Russia to undermine the Western world order imposed after WWII. Why? For money! Trump exists for money, is loyal to money and will do anything for money. Since the fall of the U.S.S.R. the "oligarchs" have amassed great sums of money through the liquidation of the Soviet state's assets and that is the source of the money for Trump.
PROSECUTE RUSSIAGATE!
3
Trump Nation is big on the Bible, and are always blaming the bad straits of the poor on their laziness, quoting 2 Thesallonians 3:10 (also cited by John Smith and Vladimir Lenin) - "If a man will not work, he will not eat."
Well, there's a new Bible verse in town: 4 Shutdown 1-2 - "If the President and McConnell do not pay us, neither shall we work."
I think it's time for federal workers to observe the text of 4 Shutdown.
1
Sympathize with the furloughed workers, but outright pity the poor borderland owners whose views and property values are threatened with eminent domain taking for erection of the Trump monument to divisiveness. If I were them I would already be go-fund-me-ing for anticipated legal fees.
5
Gail, I'm a big fan of your writing and in fact used your book American Women as a text when I taught h.s. history BUT whimsy, however muted, is not appropriate for this shutdown. This is not about a wall - if it was so big a priority, he had two years of republican Congress to push it through. No, this is just another sandbox bully tactic. He is trying to crush the Democrats, again, so he can smirk in front of his "base" and say, "Did you see me make cryin' Chuck grovel?" Why is the MS media not presenting the real story? The reason the Democrats can NOT allow the shutdown to work for Trump is that it would mark a new low in American politics, when a president can throw a tantrum and jeopardize the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of utterly innocent workers just because Congress won't give him a (largely useless, according to almost all studies) toy. It's overt fascism when that becomes the norm.
7
That photo op was a visual lie as he had Sr. Norma Parmental just sitting there, standing out, in her blue nun garb and she never got to speak to him about her humanitarian shelter and her invitation for him to meet these people seeking asylum.
CBP actually invited her there to tell Trump the true story of how desperate fleeing refugees with children do not need the National Guard or military to be called out against them. There are only a few hundred of them, and they are benign, and I think 325M Americans can take care of themselves. Trump is just a major coward like all bullies. He is also lying through his false teeth as usual too.
Sr. Norma is a Christian and he is just a 'potato head'. He has no beliefs or religion or ideals except his own daily needs. He hates minorities and the photo op was all about Trump as usual, the malignant bad actor narcissist.
5
PLEASE...This is McCONNEL's shutdown. This man, through is inaction, has done even more to hurt America than Trump.
6
This is the best! Thank God, GAIL IS BACK!
1
Trump mangled the Harry Truman quote because he doesn't even know what a "buck" is.
1
How is it that Texas governor Abbott gets to hide during this episode?
4
I am begging the air traffic controllers to walk off the job. The shutdown would be over in 24 hours.
4
"No fair pointing out that at least he wouldn’t sound like he was gasping for breath every time he read a sentence off the teleprompter."
That's exactly what we are doing as a nation... Gasping for breath. It feels quite literally like oxygen has been sucked out of the air. I truly wonder if we will see the day of light when a state of normalcy will be returned to our government, and our country.
5
Mitch McConnell and his cohorts in the Senate are culpable in this whole fiasco. Shame on all these cowards. Republican senate, do your job, and man-up!
7
Whats the going rate to be strapped to a hood and driven to Canada? This morning's online Fox News page makes no mention of the government shutdown. Nothing. Mitch McCon is encouraging a crazy man to take executive emergency control and then he left DC. In the middle of the longest gov shutdown in US history, the Repubs are gaslighting us. (And, we can all see Russia from the comfort of our living rooms.)
4
I think it is time to send Trump over to Walter Reed for a mental fitness examination. He is sounding increasingly like a deranged person. He is out of touch with reality. Best, John J. Fitzgerald
2
I love reading your opinions Gail. Keep them coming.
Gail, you study this everyday, so here’s a question for you. Since that November day in 2016, one that will live in infamy squared, have we had one freaking day, just one, when it doesn’t seem as if the country is in crisis? Please, tell me.
2
So sad Gail. Your column isn't as amusing as usual since the truth is we have all fallen down the rabbit hole.
1
And not a word, Gail, about the ‘mastermind’ that allows this folly to go on. That would be you, Mitch McConnell - the man who apparently has lost his soul in one of the shipping lanes used by the tankers in his wife’s family business. Shame on you, Mitch. Your little world has apparently shrunk so much there is no room for patriotism but ample room for personal gain. How has this happened in American?
6
There aren’t “only” 800,000 people out of work. That number is increased be the spouses, children and others who depend on those wages. Increased more by people all over the country who need US government services.
5
Tell me when I can wake up, Gail.
313
@Pia: You are on the border. Take cover. In you area it’s always something. If it’s not missle-testing to the northeast, it’s crazed, criminal, drug smuggling immigrants to the southwest. Come to think of it, why doesn’t the gov’t just abandon White Sands and test its missles on the border? Enter at your own risk. Voilà! No wall needed.
6
Please make sure there are no air traffic controllers on duty in this country when Trump wants to fly anywhere.
26
While the shutdown was clearly the actions of the President, its continuation is the inactions of the individual standing next to him, Ted Cruz, and his Republican colleagues in the Senate. The simply refuse to do what is write for these innocent federal workers and act as the House does to end the shutdown and do it in veto proof fashion. All of those Republican senators who are complicit in prolonging this shutdown simply deserve to lose reelection, These senators are proving every day where their loyalty lies and it is neither with the American people nor with the constituents that they were elected to represent,
4
Newt Gingrich has achieved his ultimate goal: government has been drowned in the bathtub. We taxpayers are losing a billion dollars a week to pay for the shutdown, and we are losing federal workers both temporarily and permanently. If we recover, it will take decades. Republicans, here is what you have achieved with your extended effort: chaos and the destruction of government. You broke it, and now you must pay for it.
9
It is time, Ms. Collins for Trump to give up his wall. The latest picture of what a saw will do to the steel slat version is just more proof that walls are old technology which just will not keep desperate people from their goal. Since most undocumented immigrants appear to be people overstaying their tourist visas, the investment needs to be in visa tracking methodology.
Walls are costly symbols of anti-immigrant attitudes which seem to have taken root in the US. Worse yet, walls are one of the tools we use to give us a false sense of security. Instead of a comprehensive immigration policy coordinated with businesses which need seasonal workers or temporary workers, we in the US blame the immigrant for filling the needs of US employers. ICE doesn't round up the CEO's of companies (like Trump who hires undocumented workers at his golf courses according to the NYT) and keep them in tents until their trials.
Undocumented workers have so many advantages for employers because they can be blackmailed into accepting poor working conditions, low wages, long hours and other abuse. The lack of a functional immigration policy which is reality-based also hurts US workers.
Eventually this partial government shut-down will end, the Federal employees (after some drama) will get back pay; the contractors such as cleaning companies will just lose money like Trump contractors on his projects usually do. The question becomes, what is left to celebrate?
6
I liked your idea about confiscating automatic weapons. Gun violence is a national emergency. I’d like to see politicians float the idea now.
7
At least Alice, or Dorothy , experienced a temporary dream-like adventures.
Trump on the other hand is permanently and dangerously delusional.
5
I wonder whether or not the Democrats are playing into Trump's hand. Can a protracted shutdown eventually destroy a government agency? I mean, the cogs that make the wheels roll will have to find other employment, right? Then what? At some point, the shutdown must cause some kind of lasting damage to the government. What happens to a program like WIC when it runs out of money in February? I have to say that I am scared.
We all joked and couldn't believe it when he decided to run for president. Now, most of us are probably thinking there is no way he will let this shut down last another two weeks right? Just remember his core followers would love to see the government burn. Not to mention the Russians. I really think that Trump will be happy to let the shut down last until the next election. Of course, how does an election work, if the government is shutdown?
I wish someone with more knowledge on the subject would write an article on what is possible given a protracted government shutdown.
4
@mb: Whatever drowns the government in the bathtub is fine with Grover Norquist’s sworn vassals.
3
Thank ( the Times) for Gail Collins. It may be small comfort, but is almost the only comfort ( once I crawl out from under the mattress) I'm almost afraid to look at the stories. Scratch almost.
9
@cheryl
Get up from there. Stand tall. Be proud. You're well on your way to being great, again.
Today, America has set a new record; a record achieved on a course that only Manifest Destiny can rationalize. A moment of reflection is only appropriate to consider why the enemies within America had to be faced down, and closed for three weeks.
1
Hashem,
For the sake of our nation, please take away Donald Trump's Twitter account as long as he is US President
5
Bizarre that our country is now run by Vladmir Putin and Ruppert Murdoch.
15
Do we need any additional evidence to convince us that when someone votes for a Republican, they are really voting to put the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Anne Coulter and Sean Hannity in charge of our government? The Republicans don't care about anyone but their donors, and Trump cares only about himself. Please be aware of this when you next enter a voting booth.
19
Thank god for Gail Collins.......
4
Presidential historians will have a field day (and possibly a lucrative career path) ahead of them when documenting this administration's outrageous malfeasance.
The problem is we are already living this on a daily basis and we will be sick of it by that time. Reading about it later will only rekindle the nightmares.
10
I do understand the living paycheck to paycheck thing. But if yesterday was the first paycheck workers missed, I would assume most of their bills were covered by paychecks received the time before that. So I didn't quite understand the focus on how these people weren't able to pay their mortgages/rent, etc. I would assume those were due the first of the month and already allotted for.
However, NOW the real pain sets in. And bully that government workers are assured back pay. And isn't that great, that the taxpayers get to pay some half million people for having done nothing, for weeks? And Republicans complain about government handouts to poor people?
Pity the workers and owners of small businesses who depend on the free flow of government workers' spending. That's money they will never get back. Yes, Trump. You own this. Never one to wish time away, I am wishing we could be transported to 2020, post-election.
2
@Karen K
It looks like you also don't understand living paycheck to paycheck when there is no "wiggle room"... and maybe you've also forgotten that expenses tend to be higher at the end of the year because of the holidays.
By the way, American taxpayers are footing the bill for Trump's photo-ops. and with no end in sight it's anybody's guess how long federal workers will be stuck in this position.
Trump may "own this" -- but the entire country is paying for it.
8
All of the progressive media is missing the boat on the most important issue regarding this shutdown.
This shutdown story shouldn't be about the government workers who are losing income, for Trump supporters and true conservatives that is a bonus not a problem. The real tragedy of the government shutdown are the American people who are not getting the services we paid for.
Let's see stories about people who are losing their homes and businesses because they can't get government approvals on their loan applications. Lets see stories about the poor people flying in America without the security protections we pay the TSA and FAA to provide. Let's see stories about the people who are eating food that may or may not be safe because we are not getting the FDA food inspections we paid for.
The real victims of this shutdown are the American people, and the American taxpayers, not the government employees who will get back pay or unemployment compensation.
10
@Ronny
Can't it be both? Many are suffering from lack of a paycheck and many will suffer from lack of needed government services.
5
Since Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and other conservative pundits are largely responsible for humiliating the President into digging in his heels on the Wall, they are the ones who should be brought to Congress to talk about their roll in causing this horrible mess for hundreds of thousands of US citizens. They should be persuaded to encourage Trump to accept the deal Congress offered Trump before Christmas and stop making the government workers pay for the Wall. They should not be punished because pundits and the President have ego issues.
13
@Cynthia To expect these conservative talk show hosts to have empathy or patriotism, is futile. They make more money in crisis that they created. So they do have greed.
4
The solution is simple, give him the money he has requested and build the wall.
Despite all the denials from liars in the media, publicaly available government records prove irrefutably that border barriers are very, very effective at reducing the number of illegal crossings.
This is echoed by law enforcement agencies in areas where the barriers have been erected.
For Democrats to claim that they are - somehow - patriotic, by continuing to insist on maintaining a situation that encourages illegal entry is patently absurd.
Anyone who wishes to enter legally can do so through any number of ports of entry. A barrier is only a problem for illegal immigrants and - really - who cares, what they think ?
All those who seek to enter illegally should be forcibly prevented from doing so. They insult the millions of legal immigrants who stood in line, often for years, and followed the rules.
3
Would you care to share your sources? Even if it might be much easier to make these assertions without any supporting evidence.
10
@Objectivist
If you are a terrorist who has enough money to fly into America, welcome aboard. If you are a poor worker from Central America seeking a better life, buzz off buddy you are not welcome. Conservatives are such shallow thinkers.
3
@BAM: It is hard to find people wackier than Ayn Rand’s dweeby cultists. They’re all delusional.
3
It's unquestionably true that his presidency to date has been an unmitigated disaster for the nation if not the world. But if there is one thing citizens on the Right and the Left can agree on its that they all desperately hope there still a chance he will - - - What's the expression? - - - ah, yes:" Go out with a bang."
5
NO, Pelosi and Schumer have decided that they hate Trump so badly that they will not allocate a relatively tiny budget for a wall that works and will instead shut the government. They spend $65B on foreign aid but not a cent to prevent their future voters from crashing the border.
2
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting gets $450 million (a rounding error in the federal budget) and conservatives shriek hysterically, but $5.7 billion is “tiny.” Trump repeatedly promised American taxpayers wouldn’t have to pay for a wall, which isn’t even a solution, but a con on his gullible base. The Democrats, as usual, are standing up for the country by rejecting this idiocy; the Republicans and their accomplices are betraying the country. As usual.
7
YES! Trumplestiltskin is the one who reneged on a deal and refuses all efforts to at least minimize the suffering. Apparently your rabbit ears and rabbit eyes were left on the other side when we were all pushed down the rabbit hole...which, by the way, is a wonderful way to dig under a wall.
1
@James
Congress previously appropriated more than a billion dollars to begin building the wall, and very little of that has been spent. Why pay more now for a publicity stunt?
4
I shudder to imagine what it is like for his children to have a father where everything he utters is a lie, exaggeration or just plain ego booster. It can be hard enough to grow up with parents who do often know what they’re talking about, but to have to deal with this hyperbole really gives you no solid footing (guess all the money helps).
8
Gail Collins has always been one of my favorites. This piece is but another good one. However, watching the wrecker in the White House these past two years, the quips now fall flat on me. As the underappreciated Aimee Mann sang, "(he's) not funny anymore, (he's) like Jimmy Hoffa jokes."
9
"Meanwhile, your best options near-term are either to get together with friends and drink heavily, or crawl under your bed and assume a fetal position."
I went with option one; it's going to be a tough two years on my liver and kidneys; my slacker chihuahuas chose option two, claiming situation is worse than a thunderstorm on July Fourth, and they have their green cards or so they say.
7
The coverage of this fight amazing.
The Dems position is to give Trump zero and that gives them them zero proportion of responsibility for the shutdown.
This is past the old bias and hypocrisy complaints.
The media did become, for better or worse, a vigorous opposition party and pretenses are gone.
Maybe be for the best. Honesty trumps pretentious.
1
What has Trump offered, other than a broken promise, i.e. a lie that American taxpayers wouldn’t have to pay for a wall, and backing out of at least two deals so far where he would have gotten some funding?
Really, what has Trump offered?
Get a clue. He doesn’t care if there’s a wall or not. This a performance for his gullible base to make it look like he’s working for them, when he’s actually selling them out on multiple fronts.
4
Someone with a the means to do so needs to find out every advertiser on FOX news (and Rush, etc), publicize them, and have a national Boycott. In order to save our democracy, we must get rid of the Trump TV Propaganda machine that is destroying our country. Too many people are drinking that Kool-Aid and therefore are ill informed as to what's really going on. It's so scary that the Republicans are so afraid of their "base" that they let this go on.
12
When he came down the escalator and said false things about the Mexicans and then was elected president. It is like a curse which we all suffer as a nation. It is also the reason he cannot get his mind away from the wall- it is like it keeps calling him. Curse can only be lifted if we ask for forgiveness from our Mexican neighbors and we all know the chances for that happening. It is amazing that our elected officials cannot see the sufferings of our own people with this shutdown. Is it not the worst kind of curse?
4
This goes on because Mitch McConnell does not bring a vote to the senate floor
That must change write an article and inform us how that can be done
Dear democrats - make this your platform. Congress must vote on all bills before it
12
It occurs to me that a few more weeks of shutdown and we WILL have a legitimate emergency and it won't be the folks from Central America waiting at the border that are the emergency, it will be the safety of the public and the well-being of 800,000 American families. Perhaps that emergency is what Trump is aiming for.
7
Oops! Not a question mark, but an ! That sounds like a real emergency to me!
What would happen if ALL the air traffic controllers in Kentucky called in sick on the same day? WWMMD? (What would Mitch McConnell do?) That sounds like a real emergency to me?
6
Trump undercut his own message of border security with his racism and lies...his constant lies, his obvious lies. Trump made America realize that a wall was immoral.
7
Anyone here study Greek tragedy? What we now await is the form of deus ex machina that will pluck the President off the stage and end this misery.
12
Trump is so illiterate. Has he never heard of CAVES?
Caves have walls!
There was no need to invent walls, because Mother Nature made them first. End of Story.
If Trump wants a huge wall, let him visit caves. In fact, he could even start living in a cave, where he can view the earliest known walls.
Perhaps he could actually buy a cave. BUT not with our money! He’ll have to use his own.
In fact, when he’s indicted and convicted we could give him a cell in a cave. Not just 4 walls. But five!
4
"President" Trump (the guy who said Obama was a Kenyan Muslim and Ted Cruz's dad killed JFK) declares his wall a national emergency in response to the skyrocketing number of illegal immigrants, the vast majority of them diseased and viciously violent .
Obama hypothetically confiscates guns due to a national gun-violence emergency, as gun deaths, including those of children, escalate rapidly.
One of those positions sounds pretty reasonable and is undeniably based on facts.
4
Along with the apparent "individual" ability, of the President, to shut down the Federal government of "our" nation, there must also be responsibility assigned to the President, individual responsibility, for damages to the welfare and wellbeing of each and every person, and each and every business, adversely affected by the shutdown.
Any entity having suffered, in any way, must, as a legal right, have the opportunity to sue both the President and those who did not act, in their official capacity, to rein this dictator in.
Now, stupid I'm not, so yes I'm aware of laws, self-serving laws, enacted by government, preventing citizens and legal immigrants from suing elected government officials and agencies, but surely some really knowledgeable attorneys have some ideas on how we may hobble this creature claiming to be our President, until we can grab his oversized derriere, hoist him on a rail with lots of splinters, tar and feather him, and set up a relay system so individual citizens, especially those hurt by him, can run him out of town.
By the way, I do remember an instance, some years back, when I was involved in a settlement for unpaid monies, and a ruling being made for statutory interest due the plaintiffs, 9% then, which was awarded and collected.
This law still exists, and methinks at a minimum, that it should be used to secure some satisfaction for suffering inflicted by this President and his pack of mad dogs.
This morning now feels better ...
3
This might get me some heat, but ...... here goes - It's so Republican to suggest dog walking or a lawn sale or a lemonade stand as a substitute for the job you have that you ain't being paid for. What are you gonna get? 20 Bucks? 50 Bucks? Just more nonsense to go in the nonsense sandwich we are being handed. Read the label. "Do Not Eat This Sandwich."
8
@ggallo GH Bush wanted to run the whole country with us all volunteering after working our full time jobs and parenting, etc. 1000 points of light was about the Republican idea of government, that it is not there to help anyone with anything. Disgusting.
2
I miss Larry!
Hi Gail, remember when the day after the 2016 election you said he wasn't sick?
“The weirdest moment of the week” has been going on and on.For more than two years. IT continues to be covered UP. By addictively focusing onTrump. As Prez.As person.As process. As our convenient available focus.OUR mantra! And as...! And so many of US choose to “cop-out” by deedless-words!Right.Left.Up.Down.Outwards.Rarely inwards! Wailing-with-words as we WAIT for someone ELSE to (RE) solve this toxic-violating-TIME.Transmitting WAZE-less words.
When an entire divided world was devastated, after WWII, American ingenuity, its diverse people’s, ranging in citizen and immigrant status, and ranges of relevant resources interacted to “Marshall Plan” a menschlich, necessary, viable response.
A divided nation needs to be UNITED-NOW.In more than just it’s labeled existence!What relevant original contributions can the Constitutional “originalists” make?What will, can, transmute a selected Evangelical underpinned WE-THEY weltananschauung into a vital, equitable well-being-US?
What is woe-some, worrisome, and infinitely more than just BE ing “weird,”this week, during the last two years, and even further, that a species capable of moving from “dry” facts, to analyzed information and knowing, and capable of deriving useful and useable knowledge, “empowered” by wisdom and insight/ “in-site,” and willfully sharing all of this, continues to enable man-induced, and sustained, ENTROPY, toxic semantic surrealism and entrepreneurs-of-violating a created “the other(s).”Now that is weird!
1
E) "Most of them are Democrats."
C'mon folks ... Trump is just getting even with those 800,000 Deep State workers .. the best way he can .. the Trump way. MAGA!!!
1
How sick and tired I am of these scripted photo-ops. Could the accompanying picture be any more constructed? It looks like a really bad law and military recruitment ad.
Kellyann must have had a hand in it. Whats with the riot shield? Or the bail-pile of "drugs"...what the...?
Trump TV set is what it is...!
6
Let us not forget that drumpf is channeling the faux republicon hero, uncle ronnie, in this mess. Remember, uncle ronnie fired the air controllers, and then they renamed National Airport, putting that fraud's name in front of it. Soon, they can call it drumpf-reagan National Airport.
5
The US budget is over 4 TRILLION $ and yet the argument that shut down part of the government and put thousands of hard working federal employees out in the cold is over a paltry 5 BILLION $. Trump, Pelosi, Schumer and McConnell should all resign because they are incapable of doing their jobs which is to run the US Government like adults. This reminds me of a bunch of toddlers in a play pen arguing over a candy bar. I thought Trump ran on the fact that he was a businessman, not a politician, and he would run the US Government like a business. What business would shut down a large part of it's operation over a minor part of the operation? Sure, Trump is an idiot, but the Democrats are playing his game and the media is cheering them on like a crowd at a WWE match.
1
@Phil Dunkle I would remind you of how Trump works. He is not in it for $5 billion, he is in it for the bullying. At 1st he asked NATO countries to contribute 2% of their GDP for defense. By the time they agreed to that, he had already raised it to 4%, and was going for 6%. Dealing with him on something like this is a no-win situation.
4
Gail, We have missed you so much, and we all hope that you and yours are well.
“No fair pointing out that at least he wouldn’t sound like he was gasping for breath every time he read a sentence off the teleprompter.”
If DJT had not willfully done so much harm to so many human beings, I would not / should not wish him harm: but he has, and I do; mea culpa. Perhaps I should be grateful that he, unlike me and mine, has lifelong health insurance, yet I am not; again, mea culpa.
1
We have a Russian asset as president. He is destroying our country from within. No one is protecting us from this man.
It's 4:00 AM and I cannot sleep. My mind tries to comprehend how anyone can support this person who is a Russian agent and is destroying our country. It fails. I cannot understand.
The Republicans are aiding and abetting him. His 40% will never leave him. Moderate Republicans whine a little but that's it and, besides, they have no power any more.
The chaos never ends. Our troops are leaving Syria. Our troops are not leaving Syria. Trusted Defense Secretary gone, Boeing in. Secretary of State, representing a hollowed out State, goes to Cairo and spews hate on our former president and supports the killers of Kashogghi and smirks while he does so.
Chaos is this president's best friend. It has kept him from ever being held accountable for anything. This time, his strategy for survival may kill our country.
And no one is protecting us. They are allowing it to happen. The cowards are allowing it to happen. They are afraid of his tweets, or they are afraid of the Russians who seem to own them all.
I will never forgive them. Republicans? You are all complicit. You are all evil. You are destroying our country. Your party is a party of destruction.
12
I feel your angst. I hope that ultimately this will end the Republican Party as we know it. I hope that Democrats take over control of government in 2020 and for decades to come and we finally can enjoy health insurance for all, a serious investment in our education system, inviolable environmental regulation, real gun control, etc, etc, etc.
5
Look to the lemmings in the GOP-controlled Senate. They could stop this madness in a New York minute if they told Leader McConnell to put on his big boy pants and allow the Senate to vote on House-approved legislation to reopen the government and allocate border security monies — just not for the wall.
But they won’t and McConnell won’t budge for the simple reason that they have placed Party over country. Besides which, they tremble with terror at crossing the megalomaniac in the White House.
We are in the rabbit hole because Senate Republicans are political cowards.
7
America revealed its true colors by putting this terrible terrible man in the White House.
He has to go. He does nothing but hurt people and cause destruction and out taxes pay for this farce.
Mitch McConnell; you are a traitor to this country and to all Americans.
There is nothing funny about this situation.
People are suffering once and for all folks.
TRUMP DOES NOT CARE!
5
Three words: Histrionic personalty disorder.
2
No, just a garden variety narcissist. I thought we already established that?
1
Dear Ms. Collins: Our so-called "President" always belittles his opponents by giving them nicknames. Why don't you come up with a nickname for him that will hopefully stick, so it will always remind your readers of who this man is, why he behaves so strangely, and from which source he receives his orders. I suggest to refer to him as Trumputin from now on.
1
Gail, thank you, you make it almost possible to survive the abject misery we have suffered since that day when Trump kinda sorta won the presidency (despite, y’know, those hundreds of millions of illegals who voted for Hillary). Not having your columns would indeed be a national emergency.
1
Harry Whoman? Never mind the fact that a buck was worth something in the years immediately after Trump was born. A dollar would buy 4 gallons of gasoline, or more, instead of it taking $4 to dribble one gallon of gas into your tank, and we've got way more gas today than we had back then. So, it's no wonder a buck won't stop on Trump's desk. Worth only a quarter, it'd just roll off ol' Resolute and wobble out the door and down the hall where, anyone, everyone would stop it and put it their pocket and yearn for the day when 25 cents would buy 5 cups of coffee while today it takes $4 to fill a cup of Starbucks. Which makes a cup of hot brown water worth more than twice as much as a gallon of automotive firewater. Be grateful your owner's manual doesn't demand the engine be fed only espresso.
But back to Trump. This is all about Trump after all. All things Trump. Yes, sir, just the way he wants it. Even when he doesn't understand it any more than he comprehends an integral calculus equation. As long as its about him. And his base. Which he screws big time all the time. And they just turn the other cheek (in a manner of speaking), smile and ask for more. All while wearing their red MAGA gimme caps.
If we gotta have the wall, make it steel instead of concrete. Faster and easier to install. Less polluting and cheaper. And, when Trump is finally shown the door, easier and faster to tear down and, as an added bonus, infinitely recyclable. Into bridges.
8
And when the Mad Hatter was forced to spend Christmas in The White House he did not have Seamus to keep him company
2
Wasn't it the Republican party (remember the Bug Man from Texas?) which wanted to shrink government and flush it down the toilet?
1
Has anyone written the book “Gaslighting America” yet?
4
"Meanwhile, your best options near-term are either to get together with friends and drink heavily, or crawl under your bed and assume a fetal position."
With all and great due respect (terrific column!), Americans' best option is to take it to the streets next Saturday -
Third Annual Women's March - January 19, MLK weekend.
We must demonstrate solidarity with those most harmed by this travesty, lest we become a nation of catatonic spectators.
4
You fail to mention the roadblock to ending the shutdown: Mitch McConnell. He apparently has forgotten that the legislative branch is a co-equal branch of government. He has turned the Senate into nothing more than an extension of the Executive Branch, led by Donald Trump. McConnell has said he will not send a spending bill to Trump that Trump won't sign. Uh, that is not how I learned about goverment in the 5th grade: the Congress passes a spending bill, sends it to the President, who can veto it. If he does, then Congress can override the veto. We are approaching a dangerous abyss: autocracy, in which a few men control against the will of what appears to be a majority.
12
It is almost as though everyone from any side has forgotten what they learned in the fifth grade, when America "was great." Basic facts, history, what things mean, how things function, how we behave in public, relate to each other, represent ideas, share ideas, work together for a cause...today we have a leader without actual ability or knowledge owning a government of, by, and for the people, and treating it like his own company, while his friends, who are not the enemy of the people because they are his friends, keep a running commentary on how beautiful the emperor's clothes are.
No single branch of government owns the government. Certainly no single individual owns the government. This president does not own the government and must be held responsible, especially when his leadership runs it into a grinding halt. How can a president believe the best way to run the country is to cease providing funding for its operation. How can the government "close."
How long?
The most frustrating aspect of this presidency, this man...is what Mike Nichols heard trying to recover his last coin:"Bell Telephone cannot argue with a closed mind."
Rational, fact based speech gets us nowhere with this person.
C'mon people. It is our "last dime." Let's get it back...
4
He will never leave until Mitch McConnell deems him more trouble than he’s worth and begins greasing the wheels for a Republican exodus from Trump’s throne.
4
Down the Rabbit Hole With Donald, and fill it up with dirt!
4
“Meanwhile, your best options near-term are either to get together with friends and drink heavily, or crawl under your bed and assume a fetal position.”
It is possible to accomplish both of these responses at once if one has cultivated agile friends.
503
@Deborah agile and small-ish
9
@Deborah
Does this mean, Deb, that if I have cultivated wonderful friends who are funner, and funnier, than 6 kinds of sin but a bit overweight or arthritic or just too damned old, they can't join me? Or should I just put the bed up on several stacks of cement blocks to make the pity party handicapped accessible?
22
@Deborah We need every single decent American to work as hard as they can NOW to organize to defeat all republicans in 2020. Give money to:
1. The Democratic National Committee
2. The Democratic Senatoral Campaign Committee
3. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
4. The ACLU
34
The investigation we need
Why does Mitch McConnell protect Donald Trump? What does Trump have on McConnell?
11
Have we forgotten that McConnell’s wife is a member of Trump’s cabinet?
6
A major difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Democrats believe that the Federal government, for all its faults, helps people while Republicans believe that government is the problem and that it should be shrunk to.the point that it can be drowned in the bathtub.
For Republicans, and their base, 800,000 Federal employees not being paid is a feature, not a bug. Same for the EPA being closed, and all the other government functions not being performed.
Democrats want to see the government open and functioning. Republicans are perfectly happy to see it closed.
12
Has any one else noticed the real reason for this hullabaloo? The week before Trump started this mess, the headlines were dominated by all the investigations of Trumps shenanigans and how close they were to coming to their conclusions. Then Trump dropped these various bombs and we haven't heard anything about Russian collusion, Stormy Daniels, shady real estate deals,....
This was a well-planned diversionary tactic by a man who has made a living with diversionary tactics.
12
For two years Trump had a Republican majority in Congress. Why didn’t he build the wall then? Surely Congress would’ve signed on to the wall without question. Maybe he wants the fight more than he wants the wall?
15
Trump is Trump. McConnell is the problem. Why is he being left off the hook? Bring the legislation forward to open the government to a vote. Then if necessary override Trumps veto. Get a spine for America.
16
Throughout Trump’s career as, whatever he has been, he has depended on the ignorance and gullibility of his customers/audience/voters. He despises the masses who he feels can be easily and continually fooled because they are stupid and fearful. If they weren’t, they would have not keep on coming back for more of what he has to sell. Sad.
7
trump considered stopping FEMA payments to victims of California wildfires. For this alone he should be impeached. His lack of empathy is staggering. And you are right republicans would have already impeached Obama for doing half the nonsense trump is doing. When are we finally going to be rid of this unqualified, uncaring “man”. The only award he justly deserves is being the subject of an FBI counterintelligence-intelligence investigation.
11
Ah, the Great Wall standoff of 2019. Trump is dug in deep now, an Oval Office address and photo op at the border. His supporters, Fox News, the GOP, fully behind him. He intends to win this one. In fact, he’s been told if he backs down, he loses the election in 2020.
Back in Moscow, Putin is feeling great about his investment. The longest US government shut down, with no end in sight. Trump now unfettered by rational advisers, the next two years promise an almost constant unraveling of American democracy and civil society. Down the rabbit hole indeed!
13
Thank goodness for Gail Collins, she helps us to keep our sanity through humor. I do feel like I fell down the rabbit hole; the words coming out of President's mouth become more bizarre every day.
5
This is not a laughing matter. This is serious. The facts, as I see them at this moment in time, is the wall is to be constructed of wheels and be called a peach.
6
Talk about dangerous - A wall won't save us from the ills of Trump.
He, and his quiet sycophants are the ones who are partners in this expensive medieval boondoggle. Seems they still want to live in the past. Is going back in time the way they think America will be great again?
5
Funny how this happened right before a new Congress was about to be sworn in. This not because Drumpf was desperate for the wall funding. It was to kneecap Pelosi even before she took up the Gavel.
7
The reality is that Trump simply does not like government. He has long demonstrated a distaste for rules, flouted them, and even ignored them. He does not care about the damage or pain that his actions cause others.
Calling it a Trump rabbit hole is kind. Calling it a swamp is so 2018 passe. It is a cesspool, with all that it implies, and Trump won't be able to get the stench off of himself.
5
One of Trump's genuine talents is his voice. When he said that we don't know if it was the Russians who hacked the DNC's emails--it might have been a 400 pound boy who lives in his mother's basement in New Jersey (Everything's legal in New Jersey.)-- or that Mexico would pay for the Trump Wall he sounded intelligent and knowledgeable. It fooled a lot of people although surprisingly not many illegal voters. I was impressed with how good he sounded during the debates even when he was talking nonsense.
But his word salads seem to be getting worse. That bit about wheels and walls...
1
In our house we believe shut down chaos is intentional destabilization of democracy.
And where is Mitch McConnell? Why is he avoiding his oath of office? Is he compromised by Russia too? 3,5 Million dollar donation from Russian American.
Congress needs to override Pres veto and open gov and get Pres to resign .
14
@JsNKR
When Democrats regain power in 2020 they need to investigate these GOP co-conspirators for their cover up of Russian attacks on our nation.
2
Trump is running scared. These border shenanigans are hardening and increasing the number of people who will vote against him in 2020. He is afraid of losing his base and ensuring he will increase his opposition. To sum it up he is evil incarnate and he is not too bright.
9
How cynical would one need to be in order to wonder if the wall standoff is intended as the mother of all distractions because we're not too far from the Mueller of all special counsel reports?
7
Actually it isn’t too cynical. It’s rational.
3
When analyzing Trump’s motivations I’ve adopted the default position of unadulterated stupidity. Trump couldn’t tell you who Truman was.
7
I wonder how many more government shutdowns are coming down the pipeline during this lunatic president’s term? For those who want less government, they may get it, then discover it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
6
The greet "dealmaker" is anything but one. I always thought that when making a deal, if side A wants something really badly, then side A offers side B something they want, it isn't "Give me what I want or I will take my ball and go home" spoiled brat like response.
If Trump wants this wall so, so bad why does he not dangle some very savory carrot in front of Congress that they simply can't refuse. Then again, with Trump, promises are made to be broken.
4
I long for the NYT headline that reads:
"FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP GUILTY OF TREASON."
Why do we misguidedly believe that it can't happen here?
We didn't believe that terrorists would fly planes into buildings, either. Even when we had evidence that said they would.
Do we honestly believe an American citizen wouldn't sell out his country?
Think again, America. Our President serves at the pleasure of THEIR President. Pathetically, Mitch and his buddies are too cowardly to do anything about it.
13
Trump could tie the wall/wheel thing together by building "the wall" with our abundant supply of old tires ("Don't retread on me.").
And just wait for him to take seriously Putin's joking suggestion of an "Iron Curtain."
This is a "down the rabbit hole" era. Trump is the Mad Hatter's evil twin and Mitch McConnell--the Cheshire Cat--has vanished.
8
The Mad Hatter [an apt title for his MAGA chapeau tendency to keep his coif in check outdoors] was obviously a bit off his game during the photo op crisis stop. When asked about where the buck stops, on a more usual 'rabbit hole' day, he would have thought [maybe he still did] and could have said, "In my pocket."
4
Losers, being people without a few million dollars in their bank account, are inconsequential and somewhat repugnant to Donald Trump. Losers are takers. Federal employees are, in his mind, receiving welfare checks, and if you need the government to give you money, you don’t deserve it. Trump is taking it away. I suspect this aspect of the shutdown gives him a satisfied feeling inside. Why would he want to end it?
7
@Peter
He would end it in return for a giant monument to himself built along the southern border. But that has nothing to do with the inconveniences suffered by the welfare cheats that get checks from the government. If he could both have the wall and continue the shutdown, he would.
The strangest sight of the week was Ted Cruz, bearing a strong resemblance to Wolfman Jack, standing next to Trump on his border trip. The passive obsequiousness of previously vehemently anti-Trump Republicans (see Lindsey Graham) looks like something from a Twilight Zone episode. Is it an utter lack of principle or have their brains been commandeered by alien invaders?
10
60 Senators can open the government. Where are the responsible, country-above-party Republicans?
11
Trump is acting like a petulant child but that does not excuse Mitch McConnell from being a negligent parent. He's like a parent who gives a toddler a load gun and tells him to go outside and play.
6
“I have been there numerous times.”
Two is a number.
4
Donald Trump is living a reality tv series and we are all just props.
11
Why did Donald Trump sound like he had just deviated his septum? Why was he totally unconscious that he sounded like a steam engine? Why was he so stressed arguing in favor of a cause he so deeply believes in? Trick questions all. Russia of course. Why has President Trump done anything since the Inauguration the way he's done it? Russia of course. It had just been revealed that Manafort had been sharing private polling data with Russians. Wednesday was not about the border, it was about Russia, just like every day since he's been President.
7
Let’s start a crowd sourcing campaign to fund and build a wall around Mar a Lago
6
The Democrats are letting the Republicans frame this argument as a security issue. It is nothing of the kind. The wall is nothing more than Republican racism. Not all Republicans are racists; but, all racists are Republicans. And, the rest of the party refuses to stop them.
Why a wall on our southern border? Why not a wall on our northern border? Racism pure and simple. In 2019 the Democratic party is standing up and fighting back against the racists and they should be proud about that.
5
Lies. Donald Trump's lies. They're not working like they used to.
Crisis? Having to defend his words - lies - in court when compared to his actions will clearly demonstrate the lies. Same with the 'emergency'. The Trump administration will have to show the national emergency and once again, their actions will show NO emergency for the nation.
Donald Trump has a political emergency. Coulter's tweet scared the whatever out of Donald. The man who lives and breathes by tweet could be brought down and loose his base with just a few more Coulter tweets. The Donald had to get into save myself mode pronto! And what is an obnoxious lying bully going to do?
Lies, bullying insults, a shutdown and threats. What he has always done.
Except he is president and unfortunately the GOP members of Congress are by and large still sticking with their liar-in-chief. As the shutdown progresses and the inevitable financial hardships become real for the citizens, only some GOP are starting to search for their spines but better late than never. For the first time, The Donald may have to look at reality. That's a big ask for a man who needs his lies even more than ever to keep his ego intact now.
Desperate Donald does nothing that will not benefit himself.
4
I've heard Trump snorts adderall (treats ADHD) which would explain his sniffing and his irrational behavior. I believe it.
4
Nothing makes me miss my dad more than your columns, On his deathbed I read one of your columns and heard him chuckle for the last time, Even if he hadn’t had cancer, he would have never lived long enough to read this gem. The knowledge that Trump is our president would’ve killed him first.
8
Gail, you omitted the rabbit-man who has led us down the rabbit hole: Mitch. When there was a deal before Christmas, he didn't put the paper in front and say - sign it or veto. Instead, he withdrew it. Now Mitch is back in his hidey-hole. So easy to find the cast of characters - mad hatter from South Carolina, for example. However, I see this not as a Wonderland, but a Greek tragedy: the protagonist whose hubris is his ruin. Or...a soap opera - As the Trump Turns. Satire aside, let's hope 800,000 federal workers and all affected by the shutdown remember who owned this.
6
The answer to why is clouded over by a bruma of lies. The man in the middle, Mr Mitch, could end this in an instant. Remember Obama's last Supreme Court nominee? Isn't this a naked attempt to derail the Democratic House from going forward with their agenda? Brilliant! Shutdown the government for two years? The infant King threatens to hold his breath until he dies. And the band played on as she sailed
into the night...not a care in sight...
7
Trump’s brief national address from the Oval Office wasn’t about his wall. It was about distracting the press and the public from the deaths of two kids, under the age of ten, who were being held by his Immigration department. He had to get that out of the headlines.
3
If this were France, the 60% of the population who opposed the would-be dictator would be loudly protesting in the streets.
3
Gail
I see that there is to be a 50th knock on of your last music festival this summer. Will you be at Watkins Glen? Will you share it all with us?
I am begging here, as dogs do.
"I will be proud to shut down the government if I don't get my wall," said the two-year-old toddler deranged president. "Mexico will pay for the wall," said the spur-heeled cowardly traitor until it morphed into " the wall will be paid for by my tariffs," said the liar fabulist. " and the citizens affected by the shutdown are with me 100%," said the mentally delusional wrecking-ball of a leader. The tweeting abomination lies consistently, a sure sign of insanity. All of which describe Donald Trump to a tee.
7
By the way, the sniffle thing is a tell that he is lying. It’s one of his many tells that he has no self awareness of.
6
In hindsight, I'm sure Native Americans, who've lived in what is now America for 12,000+ years, wished they had built great walls on the East and Gulf coast’s to keep the WASP’s and others from Europe from invading their land.
4
Ms. Collins, it's bleak on a number of fronts. But I continue to hold onto the hope that Team Mueller/America will prevail over Team Bozo.
Why?
Mueller is like Miller Huggins, the old Yankee manager. The 1927 Yankees. Murderer's Row Yankees.
Or to put it in basketball terms...
Mueller's lineup is MJ, LeBron, Wilt, and two more MJ's. And the playoffs haven't even started.
3
Not a rabbit hole, rather a swirling 'round the drain. Many of us swimming against the pull, desperate not to be pulled down and lost in the effluent.
Trumps biggest flaw is he has no ability to make his bigly promises into actionable plans. And apparently his staff are so stupid, so lost in their own agendas they cant see the barriers for the wall!
Trump and Company needs to present a coherent plan for border security. Not this tweeting vague and contradictory claims. (Late last year he claimed the southern was border was secure, then along came the caravan!) Listen to the very much smarter people, whose salaries We the People are paying, and step up to his beloved microphone, and present a solid and cogent - actionable, currently doable plan! Spend the funds already in the budget, show some real work, not silly prototypes, show some progress...maybe even some success.
Thats not hard to do, there are eager parties demanding it, ready to put various solutions in play. But Trump refuses to do what can be done, remaining childishly fixated on this $5billion (slush) funding skirmish. Petulantly fixated on trying to spin his latest version of reality - while being beaten back by the facts at every turn. Fixated on pleasing his shrinking base, and not the majority of Americans he promised to serve.
Show some work Mr. President! Do something real! Stop campaigning! Stop spinning us 'round the drain!
3
Pop quiz: Does Donald Trump know who Harry Truman was, or what he said? No, and no!
3
This president was out to lunch long before he became president. All of his worst characteristics were present for anyone, who cared, to see. When you are selfish, self centered, hateful and greedy, what could go wrong. He has absolutely no empathy for those who lost their jobs because of his intractable whim. And this president has only one goal in mind and that is to win. He is not going to say yes to Pelosi. She is a woman and should have no power. Still no one in the Senate is going to stop him. Why?
4
One of a thousand things that Trump did/does that if Obama did the GOP would be screaming for his impeachment. Remember, they impeached Clinton for something that Trump trumped before he even took office. HYPOCRICY SQUARE!!!!!
4
Gail, when a reporter asked Trump, about Harry Truman’s “buck stops here”, I believe that Trump responded that he thought that Harry Truman was not the best wizard at Hogwarts, and that if (Trump) had been at Hogwarts that het he would have been the best wizard. “Harry Truman very overrated wizard”.
2
Gail, you forgot to add that the "stable genius" president, in his infinite wisdom, has decided that not paying the secret service agents that protect him is the best way to ensure his safety. No fiction writer can make up this bizarre narrative. Great great granddaddy of all rabbit holes.
3
Well, Trump is a brainless ventriloquist’s dummy, a mindless mannequin who ricochets sound bites piped at him by Hannity and whoever else pulls his strings.
Unfortunately, a large part of America cannot tell the difference between this automaton and a real person.
6
Ms. Coĺins, I cut the legs off my bed years ago so commies wouldn't hide under it.
1
Keep in mind at all times that his word is worthless
and the MSM has to stop covering the gibberish
that flies out of his mouth
4
To answer question 99 - he doesn't know who Harry Truman is, has no idea what that sign on his desk meant, and doesn't know that he had a sign on his desk.
It is time for all reporters, including the 'funny' ones like Gail here to get real.
Frank Bruni is. This is beyond jokes.
Americans? Here is a picture of Harry and his sign:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/opinion/trump-border-shutdown.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage#commentsContainer
Why don't you print one out and mail it to the WH and your member of Congress? Imagine if 10's of millions of you would do that.
Apparently they all need reminding what their jobs are.
6
Can't someone do a legal intervention? Damage is being done, people are being hurt, major projects are getting disrupted. Trump is sabotaging the country, isn't that grounds for removal?
6
Trump may well have heard the name Truman, somewhere. But he isn't likely to know what a buck is. So, what does he think the expression means?
It would be fun to get him to tell us.
1
As I have been saying this is about a power struggle in Washington DC and the way our divided government is set up. The president as it seems has a job to do but without a budget to do it. The 5.7 billion that he is requesting to secure the border a part of his job description from congress is less than 0.01% of the entire 4 Trillion (4000 billion) budget that congress wants Trump to sign off on.
This shut down is not fair to the president and it is not fair to those government workers who are doing their job without pay. The current impasse is ridiculous because of our system of government that gives too much power to the congress which has corrupted the system and held the country hostage. If the only option left is a nuclear option of declaring a national emergency so that the partial shut down is brought to a conclusion and the president can get his job done so be it. We need a referendum to determine what we the people would like to see happen. Congress has far too much power to spend the entire tax payer revenues and the people have ZERO power. This is not a democracy that is ideal for satisfactory governance. No wonder this is not the first time there has been a shut down and probably not the last unless we the people have a direct say in spending items and debt reduction.
Taxation without direct representation is tyranny and that is exactly what the congress is subjecting the country to.
All elected officials should not receive any compensation during shut downs.
2
@Girish Kotwal As Trump stated earlier the wall will actually cost $20-30 billion dollars, and who knows how much more cost will appear. The $5.7 billion is just the start so he can preen constantly over the next 2 years about its construction, then demand more $ for it. Nancy & Chuck know this therefore they will not let it start.
3
@Girish Kotwal I apologize for a typo in my post. The third sentence should be less than 0.1% not less than 0.01%.
1
@Girish Kotwal
You must have been hiding under a stone. It was the president who said he was proud to shut down the government. All money bills must originate in the house. The president has no authority to spend any funds not appropriated by the house. Go read your constitution. Trump's actions are those of an autocrat commanding obedience from all. And to say that the federal workers who have not received a paycheck agrees with him shows a lack of empathy. We ought to kick the bum out.
2
Bravo.
1
Look at this! Even the Republican Congressman of McAllen Texas where Trump went yesterday does not support trump's version of the Wall!
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/rep-hurd-shutting-government-concrete-border-wall-doesnt-make-sense
The Administration has hidden him from any public profile and purposely did not include him in Trump's visit to McAllen!
Pls, pls, pls, spend the time to watch this 7 minute PBS Newshour segment particularly if you lean Republican!!!!! Pls!
9
Trump insists that furloughed workers agree 100% with what he's doing because they realize we need border security. And as he relays his fantasmagoric memory of being implored by unpaid federal workers to " do the right thing", he makes sure to include that their plea was prefaced by the respectful title of "Sir".
There was never a clearer sign that he longs for his real job description to be feudal monarch. Games of Thrones, we're on.
9
Trump got the nomination by spouting witless nonsense with promises of childishly simple solutions for complex issues and now it is time for him to pay up. The Mexicans won't pay for it, nor will anyone else half a brain. Sad.
9
Why is a raven like a writing desk?
Because Trump says so!
5
About Trump.
I rest my case.
2
Again, thank you for your sanity Gail.
I've been under the flannel blanket, "drinking heavily," and in a "fetal position" - metaphorically since 2016.
How long can this idiocy go on?
We're soooo lucky he did not declare a false national emergency based on his dim, and selfish brain.
Has NBC offered to give him a prime time show of some kind if he resigns the presidency. Maybe something titled "The Big Handsome Boss and his Family" ---
We're not in a "Rabbit Hole" - we're in an completely alternate universe.
Surely the Republican Party must realize sooner or later that this guy is a death wish.
Have a pleasant weekend.
8
Prediction:
Trump declares an Emergency to fund his stupid wall.
He is summarily removed under Article 25.
Hello, President Pence.
Foe the next year, the Times should turn 100% of its front page over to Gail, Dave Barry, Louis Black, DL Hughly, Jon Stewart and other great observers of this history.
2
Gail,
Thank you for being back.
The situation has become so bleak that laughter has almost disappeared from our lives; not that rueful, semi-sad smile laughter, but that spontaneous burst that can explode out of one.
You did it. It was not just the actual line, but how you built the universe that led to it. When I read
"Meanwhile, your best options near-term are either to get together with friends and drink heavily, or crawl under your bed and assume a fetal position."
I laughed so loud I woke my wife, and I believe several neighbors.
It's a great day again! And Thank You Again.
6
Mr. Obama--on national TV? Proposing to confiscate all American guns?
All make believe, right?
But during his time in office, the US military conducted war games in the state of Texas. And am I remembering this right? The then GOVERNOR of that state--a stalwart Republican--got the cockamamie notion: the President WAS indeed proposing to confiscate guns.
A latter-day Herod, conducting his own Massacre of the Innocents.
Unlike some people, Mr. Obama was--and is--an intelligent, well-informed man. The Constitution of the United States gives the President NO SUCH RIGHT--to confiscate other people's property merely on his own say-so.
Any more than it gives him that right to whistle--beckon a federal marshal--
--"AND LOCK HER UP!"
He cannot arrest people either--just on his own say-so.
All this to suggest, Ms. Collins--
--millions of people DO live in their own alternative universe. And listen!
WONDERLAND it's not.
Oh no. It's a place of deep dark shadows. Immigrants--MILLIONS of immigrants crouching behind trees, ducking behind bushes, clutching knives, and smiling fiendishly: "Bad luck, Senor! So sorry!"
A place where US presidents can confiscate millions of guns--just by giving the requisite orders.
A place lovingly sketched out for us by Mr. Donald J. Trump--
--and millions of others. And--know what?
I don't want to LIVE in such a place. And--know what?
I DON'T.
6
Yes, had Obama declared guns a national emergency, which makes a lot of sense, then the GOP would have screamed that he was trying to take our constitutional rights away. It is still ok to criticize Obama in my part of the US, but if you say anything about Trump in most places, watch out.
Were Republicans so racist and sexist prior to Trump, that they simply needed the right stooge to give them the green light to openly express their contempt for their fellow man? Do people seriously believe the garbage that comes from the mouth of the Senate majority leader and the empty vessel that resides in the oval office?
9
@Anthony
Yes this is the America that you never thought about. And this is the America that elected this champion liar as their president. Too bad that we have to endure.
2
" When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather scornful tone, " it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less". " The question is," said Alice " whether you can make words mean so many different things." " The question is, " said Humpty Dumpty, " which is to be master- that's all."
From "Through The Loooking Glass" by Lewis Carroll
5
I’m certain that, every morning since this farcical shutdown began, Vladimir Putin bounces out of bed with a grin on his face and a song in his heart. All Putin wanted was for Trump to destabilize the United States, and now his wish has come true on a bigger, badder scale than even Putin could imagine.
We’ve been hearing Trump called a traitor for almost two years, and fresh evidence keeps surfacing. Could we please handcuff Trump to the crimes and treasons he’s committed, and stop treating him with kid gloves?
14
The single most salient fact in this awful mess is that Trump did not get his GOP Congress—especially after the House was full of lame ducks—to pass an appropriations bill in December with funds to build his silly wall.
And why was that? Because he didn’t have the votes? Because his own party did not want to waste billions on something that added so little to border security? What other reason could there be? And so now he’s holding 800,000 hostages to try to force Democrats to give him a win his own part wouldn’t? While Mitch McConnell sits on his hands lest he be primaried from the right?
This isn’t a rabbit hole. Donald Trump has thrown the country down a bottomless pit of lies and misdirection. And the GOP Senators—the only ones with the power to stop the free fall—all stand around the edge looking the other way.
14
Every time I think Trump has sunk to a new low, I find he's still digging. And hurting people. And wrecking our country.
10
Very simple solution:
Impeach Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr.
Short of that:
The People, en masse, surround his homes, offices, the Congress. Raise pitchforks and demand his immediate resignation. Keep him from leaving/entering with massive civil disobedience lock-ins.
Expand the demonstrations to every Republican in Congress.
Let's begin with the Women's March January 19. In Washington, after the gathering and speeches, march to the Capital Building and encamp. March to wherever he lives in D.C. and encamp.
In Kentucky, the local Women's March should do the same.
Prepare to be arrested, but saving America requires patriots willing to make sacrifices.
11
While you attempt to be funny, Gail, this situation has passed humor and now dives into pathos.
Mr. Trump does not want a wall; he wants a wall FIGHT to show his likely shrinking base he is a FIGHTER.
If you want a fighter, look to Mona Hanna-Attisha, MD, the pediatrician in Flint, Michigan, who doggedly exposed the lead poisoning in her town. She fought for her patients, the least powerful children in her town. And, for Mr. Trump's benefit, she is also an immigrant whose parents are Muslim.
Want another? Pick any recipient of the Medal of Honor who gave his life for his country. These men understood what honor really is, Mr. Trump. They did not posture. They did not tweet. They did not pander.
Normally, I would think of myself as a caring person but you, Mr. Trump, have tested my self image bigly. With the ongoing shutdown you perpetuate, I am not sure I would now relieve my bladder on you if I found you and you were on fire.
11
The single most salient fact in this awful mess is that Trump didn’t get his GOP Congress—especially after the House was full of lame ducks—to pass an appropriations bill with funds to build his silly wall.
Why was that anyway? Because he didn’t have the votes? Because his own party didn’t want to waste billions of taxpayer money on something that added so little to border security? And so now he’s holding 800,000 hostages to try to force the Democrats to give him a win his own party wouldn’t? While Mitch McConnell sits on hands lest he be primaried from the right?
This isn’t a rabbit hole. Donald Trump has thrown the country down a bottomless pit of lies and misdirection. And the GOP Senators—the only ones who can stop the free fall—all stand around the edge looking the other way.
4
an hour of his time to attend a single negotiating session. No sticking his neck out, not for Mitch. Mitch.....it's time to retire. You are too out of touch to continue. Do the right thing here and get the government reopened. Yes it may cost you votes. But as with Pelosi and those other Democrats, it is the right thing to do.
5
Hi Gail. Three years ago, suppose that you presented say a top Hollywood Film Director with the script that you just wrote today about a fictional character running for President of the United States. How long do you suppose it would take the director to hand you back the script crying with laughter and then telling you to seriously consider another profession?
4
It's time for grandpa to retire.
6
Look at the body language in the photo. T, as usual, raising his hands above shoulder level to declare, "Follow my vision." This is a variant on his usual hands at waist level, palms forward, to say, "Why do you hate me? See how nice I am?"
The important figure is at the right; Ted Cruz in his George W ranch jacket is LOOKING AT THE GROUND. "I wish I were anywhere but here! I hate this man and this situation."
John Cornyn is obscured by T's right shoulder, but later in the day he made a statement supporting an immediate end to the shutdown and opposing misdirection of disaster money to Wall construction.
T's acolytes are withdrawing. Even Mitch has left T to drown in his own errors. Is T tired of winning yet?
4
Pick the correct answer:
A. He really cares about the nation as a whole.
B. He has read carefully about issues of terrorists and other criminals crossing the border.
C. He believes in the rule of law.
D. None of the above.
I know, that was too easy.
7
America is a very tolerant parent. Its teeny-handed dictoddler demands everyone's attention for his poorly-staged kindergarten recital at the southern border, lies without interruption, breaks everything in sight, pollutes with impunity (along with his friends from daycare), and sooner or later, picks a fight with everyone he is introduced to. I'm not an advocate of corporal punishment, but in this case, a good belting and off to his room without supper might be just the ticket!
7
I think it's rich seeing Ted Cruz in lockstep with the immigrant-adverse leader of his party. If Trump had been president when Cruz's dad tried fleeing Cuba, he'd never have been allowed into America and Senator Ted would be rolling cigars in Havana about now.
12
As bad as Mr. Trump is, McConnell is worse.
When Obama was elected, the old fellow announced that nothing Obama tried to do would not be acted upon by the Senate.
I think "Mr. MCC" should have a medical /mental checkup.
Every time I see him smirking as the President talks I wonder who is the most dangerous for our country.
12
During Watergate, people may have been too exhausted by the “violent and turbulent” 1960’s to find anything funny about it. In retrospect, Watergate was just the bright red cherry on top of the proverbial sundae that screamed validation of everything those of my generation were protesting.
Today, the evidence from news reports, public court filings by the Special Counsel, indictments, guilty pleas, and a criminal trial collectively demonstrate an even greater level of political campaign corruption than exposed by Watergate. The Trump campaign is CREEP X 10.
I was right back then to conclude President Nixon was knowingly running a criminally corrupt Committee to Re-elect the President and obstructing Justice from the Oval Office. It was highly unlikely political campaign officials just committed criminal acts on their own without authorization from the candidate. I was wrong to think Candidate for President and President Richard Nixon would never do anything to sell out our country.
Now, there is a likelihood we have a sitting President who poses a risk to national security by overt statements and actions, whose political campaign was brimming with corrupt and criminal individuals (Flynn, Manafort, Papadopoulos, Gates, Cohen), who seems to cause purposeful chaos at every turn, and whose supporters, just as Nixon’s supporters, cry “witch hunt” and “deep state conspiracy”.
We will keep making the same mistakes if we do not learn from them.
4
This is Trump. This is why we find ourselves in this awful situation. He brings out the worst in people. That is why all the good people leave him or get convicted and go to jail. The wonder of this all is how does he stay literally out of trouble. How come nothing he does sticks. He lies constantly on a daily if not hourly basis , he says absolute nonsense, he is Individual #1-a criminal, he ignores his Constitutional obligations, he pays homage to dictators, he instructions on how to run the government from TV commentators, he spends most of his TV flipping channels, he has spent almost 25% of his current presidency on the golf course, he conducts his foreign policy via Twitter, he has exposed other nations secrets, he has been cruel to children by adopting policies that have lead to the death of 2 youngsters, he has against all reason and factual basis brought our government to a near halt, he has abused his office for personal gain, he has installed his family in sensitive positions that they are unqualified for, he has chosen members of his cabinet who have not background in the field they have been chosen for, for all these acts and many others he has become the most UnAmerican President that this nation has ever had. He is a scare on this nations sole that will take generations to remove. As a nation we are not trusted anymore, Americans have been divided as result of his conduct as never before. Making matters worse we have a Congress that sits back lets this go on.
5
At this point any reasonable person must know Trump is a phony con-man. The real problem is his enablers and supporters, a large swath of fellow Americans, yes our fellow neighbors.
6
Gail--I must admit--I have lost my sense of humor over this President. Your pieces were always a welcome relief from the dumpster fire presidency---but, now, I have lost my ability to laugh. Not only am I not laughing anymore, but, my attitude---being a senior citizen--of this too shall pass---has also vanished. I am genuinely concerned about this country. There is no doubt now that our President is mentally unstable; that our government is being run by a group of incompetents; that Congress is frozen in place; our court system--with Ms. Ginsburg at home--is frozen in place; what competent officials we have left are resigning or out of work---our country is not in a good place right now---it seems only Nancy is between us and something very terrible going wrong in this country.
4
Down the Rabbit Hole With Trump? More like down to the bottom of the Marianas Trench without Trump after he sinks us.
With New York’s A.G. James and Mueller’s team closing in everything Trump now does on our borders and elsewhere (Syria, for example) Russian military science calls “functions of maskirovka” — strategic-level deception. Ruses, diversions, administrative chaos (refusing to fill vacant government positions, shutting down the Federal government) are meant to sow confusion and distract his enemies’ attention. Our attention, in other words, because loyal Americans are enemies in the eyes of the Benedict Arnold in the Oval Office — before he strikes death-blows to our republic.
Nobody sees the obvious. To maintain his freedom and fortune he must destroy our Constitutional system of government, one steeped in tradition but corruptible and fragile; short-circuit its legal systems especially like Putin, his mentor and partner in crime, did in Russia. He must exercise effective control over what the Justice Department does and how courts rule if he is to use them to destroy opponents. “The Wall” isn’t the flailing of a stupid man out of his depth but maskirovka from one playing a key role in a plot designed by Russian America experts. His strategic role in it is to turn our political system’s weaknesses into weapons that can be later used to wreck it.
Repeated declarations of national states of emergency and blind deference to presidential authority do that nicely.
7
Mitch McConnell is a total enabler to Trumps dysfunction and ineptitude. I haven't seen or heard much at all about his part in this. He has been silent and invisible even though he owns this shutdown as much as Trump.
4
Fine column but just too easy to ridicule tRump. Though I will not take 2nd place to anyone in my disgust for him, I believe at this point the mantle of the shutdown belongs to the senate majority leader. He needs to bring the spending bill up for a vote and let the senate override the veto if they will. If not, they can all share responsibility with the president. The idea that he won’t bring it up because he knows it won’t be signed is foolish. He can’t know in advance what tRump will do - even tRump doesn’t know.
7
McConnell, McConnell, McConnell. Mitch McConnell is responsible for the continuation of this cruel, cynical shutdown. Mitch McConnell can initiate an end to this shutdown by allowing a budget vote in the Senate. A vote, BTW, on a budget plan that has earned bipartisan support, and by most accounts would be passed now with a veto-proof margin. McConnell refuses to allow the vote because it would make Trump and the GOP “look bad.” Mitch McConnell is a calculating coward hiding in plain sight, but he must be held responsible for the continuation of this shutdown. Don’t let him hide anymore. Say it loudly and repeatedly: McConnell, McConnell, McConnell.
13
Trump had a strategy for the Wall/Shutdown negotiations: "heh, heh, heh. If I offer them free skittles, they will be putty in my hands."
3
The best thing we can do isn't to drink heavily (!) or to crawl under
the couch. Too, too much is at stake. Only the privileged can
afford to mope. What crummy advice. He's not a mad hatter.
He's not a figment of our imagination. He's not entertainment
or fodder for op ed pieces. He's the primary force behind growing misery and hardship, and he ain't funny any more.
8
Your spot on. Love it.
2
Gail, we read this before bed last night online and went to sleep having laughed for the first time that day.
Thank you for keeping your sense of the absurd in this insane period - of course, there is so much material to work with but you find the pearls.
2
I bet that if every TSA agent called out on Monday you would see this shut down end very quickly.
6
In the oval transfer station the buck is converted to a bunch of three dollar bills engraved with the names of Democrats who are blamed for starting buck movement in the first place.
1
No, we are not down a rabbit hole, we are in the Twilight Zone.
6
Apparently, the shutdown has now cost us more than the wall.
So the money for the wall that Mexico supposedly paid us through the USMCA trade deal?
It's gone!
And guess what? Mexico will pay for this shutdown too.
390
@nr:The trade deal has not passed Congress who say Nafta needs improving but the deal doesn't go far enough. So even though the deal is much better the Democrats prefer to block Trump at every turn. Democrats swear they are against open borders but never say anything bad about the illegals entering our country. Democrats support sanctuary cities/states comparing illegal immigrants as a Civil Right movement on par with Martin Luther King.
3
@Larry The wall won't be your solution to the illegal immigrants entering the USA. In fact, the percentage of unauthorized immigrants in the United States has been steadily declining from 12.2 percent of the country's population to 3.4 percent without any wall. Although the situation with illegal immigrants is one problem the USA have to solve, it's not a good enough reason for a government shutdown that affects millions of federal worker and definitely not one that costs 5 billion dollars to fix.
Why not spend 5 billion on educating these immigrants so that they may benefit our country later? I understand that Americans are afraid that the competition on the job market will intensify, but don't you think that having your jobs stolen by homeless people forced to leave their country and cross the border is not totally the immigrants' fault?
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@Larry
Check it out.
Reagan was the president who gave amnesty -- big mistake!!
The law by which parents were separated from children were enacted under Obama, who sent back loads of illegals.
There are many ways to get around a physical barrier-- e.g. trucks, boats, planes-- the way most illegals in fact do enter.
8
I heard one of his supporters- a smart person with loads of degrees from east coast colleges - say that Trump is deliberately confounding. His drifting, flip-flops, hallucinations and Lewis Carrol logic form a brilliant, cultivated management style that keeps everyone guessing. To what end, I don’t know, but her analysis - and obvious admiration - is shared by millions of others who think that Trump is one step ahead of all of us....There is such a thing as collective insanity, or maybe it’s simply wishful thinking: things can’t be so bad as they appear, surely there must be a plan. Our innate talent at locating patterns, even where none exist.
14
It is time the press started putting pressure on McConnel. He can end this right now by passing a bill with veto proof majority. No one seems to target him. All the attention is on the drama king.
25
Time for a column on Mitch McConnell and why he is so afraid to override a Trump veto.
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As Trump has announced several times, he has the ABSOLUTE RIGHT to declare a national emergency to insure that he always gets what he wants, never mind that the rights and needs of hundreds of thousands of Americans who do vital work for this nation are being dismissed by him because they can adjust, right?
7
If it wasn't an EMERGENCY when Republicans controlled Every Branch of the US Government, it's hard to believe there is a CRISIS that developed in the past month.
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Walls and wheels are old and have been around forever, true. So have abacuses. It doesn't mean just because they're old, that they're always the best solution.
Wheels aren't the best way to get from Washington to McAllen. Air Force One is way better. Maybe someone should have mentioned that to Dear Leader.
8
Most Americans—Republican and Democrat—have a sense of fairness, and they know shutting own the government isn't right and that it's hurting the families of the workers who have been laid-off or made to work without a paycheck.
10
Donald is a lost cause, we all know it. Why is McConnell refusing to do his job?
27
As his wacky words and actions guild up I keep wondering if Trump is going for an insanity defense. There is always an excuse in his motivation and a play for pity.
4
Well stopping air traffic into the US would stop many of the "illegal immigrants" being those who flyb in then overstay their visas and stop a lot of illegal drugs being smuggled into the country. Of course the .01% might find it bothersome when their post-holiday travel plans to St. Barts are curtailed.
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Good morning, Ms. Collins; I often enjoy your columns. Your joke about government employees moonlighting as house-cleaners was funny. It does bother me, however, that this type of remark, which dismisses a whole class of labor as less-than, will slide by most readers' consciousness without registering as insulting. In an age when a comedian can be pilloried for making a joke about sex or race or gender that is perceived (usually by a small number of vigilant people) as off-color, maybe it's time to start subjecting class and labor jokes to the same hyper-sensitive microscopy. Just kidding. I think leftists should grow up instead. The difference for me is that, in a performance, an off-color joke can often be read ironically, in a way that indicts rather than reinforces patriarchy/racism/what-have-you, whereas your joke about vacuuming is a throwaway line that reads pretty straight. Thank you, sincerely.
1
Is it a stretch to speculate that the reason for Trump's obsession with the wall is that he needs the 5 big ones to pay the vig on loans he's yet to honor through his foreign lenders? Any deadbeat with creditors hot on his heels will tell you you'd better pay up - or else! But, he's got irons in the fire - if only those pesky sanctions weren't ruining everything he'd be able to get Putin off his back vis a vis Derispaska's steel/aluminum imports (such a deal on tariffs!) to supplement American steel for the wall - also handy when you want squeaky-clean money! Putin's idea or Big Don? Aye, there's the rub!
8
Four of Trump's personality flaws are causing pain: Narcissism, obstinacy, heartlessness, mendacity. This wall is all about his ego (narcissism) fueled by his refusal to budge for fear of upsetting right wing pundits (obstinacy) completely lacking empathy for those suffering (heartlessness). When asked if he can feel the pain of the unemployed, he said "Yes I can" (mendacity).
3
The president who claims to be smarter than the generals, who knows more than anyone about drones, who wants to just print more money, has a plenty of chinks in his executive armor. Cheering for a guy who has multiple bankruptcy filings, lost any number of businesses and a “university”, is the believers’ own fault. Watching him teach his audience something he just learned is not amusing.
There is no wonder he’s stuck his nose into the spokes of our economy. Ignorance may be forgiveable but he refuses to learn from his own lackluster staff what little they know as they behave like head-bobbing hand puppets. He’s giving silver spooners an even worse reputation.
2
trump needs to watch the movie Dave, he could learn what we expect from presidents.
From the movie," I forgot that I was hired to do a job for you and that it was just a temp job at that. I forgot that I had two hundred and fifty million people who were paying me to make their lives a little better and I didn't live up to my part of the bargain.
See, there are certain things you should expect from a President. I ought to care more about you than I do about me... I ought to care more about what's right than I do about what's popular. I ought to be willing to give this whole thing up for something I believe in."
3
The bigger joke is that one malicious and incompetent "leader" can take the country down this ruinous path and there are not enough interested parties to stop this unfolding train wreck. I watch in complete and total awe.
11
this is the government you get that is run by the rich , for the rich, they have shown they have NO idea how many ordinary people live.
10
It blows my mind that here's a man who has been forbidden to run, or be any where near, a charity but he is still allowed to run the country.
14
Turns out the on-going Republican Reality show actually involves ..... reality. Now it's not just "foreigners" - muslims, asians, latinos etc. - that we have to, have to have protection against. It's us that are losing homes, going hungry and losing medical care. And many more than just the alleged "deep state" employees, who if they weren't Democrats before, now are. What a concept for Trump voters. Not only did they not get a tax break or better health insurance at a lower cost, but they are actually seeing their savings and livelihoods being destroyed. Call your Republican senator and tell him something he forgot - he works for you, not McConnell or Trump. And he better get back to work for you.
8
Gail, your imagined Obama parallel could go further. Following our next national gun outrage, a future Democratic president could reasonably declare a national emergency and ask the military to confiscate all assault rifles and large weapon magazines. Democrats NOW should let Republicans know what kind of precedent they are close to creating.
6
Having Trump as president is humiliating for the US, but having the Republicans anywhere in power in the country is positively dangerous. Their attitudes and behaviour since Reagan - the pollies, the donors and their lobbyists - represent a determined effort to turn the nation to the right and toward untrammelled feudalism (the peasants are obliged to live in their lord's land and give him homage, labour, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection).
McConnell is the spawn of Satan or the love child of Gingrich and Grover Norquist. Is there nothing in the American system that can challenge his absolute control of the Senate? I'm so surprised there is no way around him - or any ridiculously obdurate Speaker.
14
I feel more like I've slipped down the rabbit hole when I find people defending the behavior.
The President shuts the government? He's hanging tough. The Administration completely reverses policy on Syria three times in about a week? The President's trying to keep our enemies guessing; he's crazy like a fox!
The President brags he will take the mantle for the shutdown? The he blames everyone but himself - even as he disregards different compromises. And his supporters blame Pelosi, despite the fact that the wall could have been built anytime in the last two years if McConnell wanted it.
It isn't just that the President is channeling the Red Queen, it is that so many in the nation are the Walrus and the Carpenter, bemoaning the terrible fate of the oysters.
9