Trump reportedly views the border wall fight as his personal Alamo. Remember, the Alamo didn't end well.


President Trump's uphill battle to force Democrats to give him $5.7 billion to start his border wall is "the president's personal Alamo," Gabriel Sherman writes at Vanity Fair. "Trump has told aides he's prepared to stake his presidency on making a last stand," and those aides aren't convinced he'll survive. Trump "has convinced himself he can't win re-election in 2020 unless he gets a lot of the wall built," a former West Wing official told Vanity Fair. "The problem is, the Democrats know that."
"The president put himself in a box," the ex-official added. "The problem is there's no endgame. Right now the White House is at a seven on the panic scale. If this thing goes on past the State of the Union they're going to be at an 11." Congressional Republicans are starting to balk at Trump's insistence on keeping the government partially shut until he gets his money, and a prominent Republican close to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told Sherman that Trump's handling of the shutdown is "total f---ing chaos."
Trump commandeered prime-time TV Tuesday night to try to convince America there's a "crisis" on the southern border — and "the lack of a wall is a crisis for Trump, of course, because it is his most famous policy goal" and "failure to fulfill it may hurt him badly in 2020," Jonathan Chait notes at New York. He's already failed, argues David Frum at The Atlantic. After his "Oval Office address, little doubt remains of how this shutdown will end. Sooner or later — probably sooner — it will end the way Trump's threats of nuclear war upon North Korea ended: With a sudden Trump about-face. ... Trump, trapped without a decent exit in a predicament of his own making, will yield everything and get nothing."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Except, of course, he'll gain a battle cry, just like the fighters killed by Mexico's army in a Texas mission in 1836. Remember the Border Wall?
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank plan
Speed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutional
Speed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for rifles
Speed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBI
Speed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summit
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'