Both Trump and the Democrats reportedly think they have the upper hand in the shutdown fight
Little progress has been made to resolve the partial government shutdown nearly a week after it began, as President Trump and his Democratic opponents are both apparently under the impression they have the upper hand in the fight.
Privately, Trump has been saying that the shutdown is working out great for him politically and that the Democrats are "screwing themselves" by not agreeing to his wall demands, The Daily Beast reports. The partial shutdown began when Trump refused to sign a spending bill that did not include the $5 billion in border wall funding he has demanded.
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That assessment may be correct based on a recent poll, which found that 47 percent of Americans blame Trump for the shutdown, while only 33 percent blame Democrats. But Trump is only doubling down on his demands, threatening Friday on Twitter to close the southern border entirely if Democrats don't agree to wall funding.
According to The Daily Beast, Trump and his allies like the idea of Nancy Pelosi having to begin her tenure as House speaker by fighting over the wall. "The more the focus is on the wall, the more Pelosi is forced to focus on this fight instead of the investigations," a source close to the White House said.
