During the 2018-2019 government shutdown (the longest federal shutdown in US history lasting 35 days), Donald Trump’s first term administration was ill prepared for the tactics used by the establishment media, Democrats and even saboteurs within his own cabinet. The narrative spin was highly effective in painting Trump as the villain, subverting his efforts to achieve lasting security at the southern border.
The 2018 shutdown hinged largely on the fight between Republicans and Democrats over funding for a border wall that would ensure far lower illegal immigration numbers well after Trump left office. The construction cost of $5.7 billion seems like a pittance compared to the projected cost of $350 billion to deport alien migrants over four years.
Currently, the US is enjoying the lowest immigration numbers in over 60 years as border encounters plummet, but this is largely contingent on Trump’s presence in the White House and cuts to subsides for illegals. His original wall proposal remains a necessary measure to help prevent future mass migrations.
The President lost enough popular support during the 2018 event that it threatened to drag down his overall chances of reelection. At that time, the American public was more inclined to care about the plight of federal workers who faced financial uncertainty. Ultimately, Trump had to abandon his border wall project. Today, circumstances have changed dramatically.
Even CNN admits that this time is different, with polling numbers shifting far more in Trump’s favor during the current shutdown fight. Trump has learned to anticipate Democrat disinformation methods (their denials about healthcare subsidies for illegals have been effectively exposed), and with far fewer insiders in a position to undermine his policies, the administration is less likely to fold and give Dems what they want.
The Democrat position on the shutdown is untenable. They demand that Trump undo provisions of the “Big Beautiful Bill” that cut ACA (Affordable Care Act) subsidies to millions of illegal migrant who qualify under asylum provisions. They also want the White House to rehire thousands of federal workers fired during the shutdown, they want funding returned to PBS and NPR, and they want a repeal of work requirements for food stamp recipients.
Both chambers of Congress and the White House have passed a “clean” CR in the House that extends funding at current levels without policy riders. Democrats in the Senate have repeatedly blocked it (now 12 times), insisting on attaching concessions.
The Democrat focus, for reasons that are not immediately clear, seems to be healthcare subsidies for illegals. Progressives are banking on the public’s lack of knowledge on the details of ACA, but a single meme posted by Trump blew up their messaging.
Hakeem Jefferies is having a horrible week.
President Trump just posted ANOTHER meme 🤣
Just wait for it… pic.twitter.com/k3DIq5ZhoR
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 1, 2025
The question is, will increasing support for the White House position outweigh the craziness of Democrats? Or, will Democrats decide to “go for broke” in the hopes that an economic crisis develops and damages Trump’s optics. There is little to nothing in the progressive list of demands that makes sense – The Dems would have to hope that they don’t catch public blowback if extended instability in government is their strategy.
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