Nancy Pelosi was the toast of Washington.
The fake news media rushed to publish fawning articles and glowing headlines crediting her with forcing Donald Trump to end the government shutdown.
But the celebration was short lived as Trump sent Pelosi a stunning message that just wiped the smile off her face.
Donald Trump agreed to reopen the government for three weeks so Congress could negotiate a deal on border security that must contain funding for a physical barrier on the Southern border.
Cable networks and major newspapers raced to push out stories claiming Trump had “capitulated” or “surrendered” on the border wall.
However, that was not entirely true.
Trump set the table for three weeks of negotiations where he could still win money for the wall.
The President tweeted, “I wish people would read or listen to my words on the Border Wall. This was in no way a concession. It was taking care of millions of people who were getting badly hurt by the Shutdown with the understanding that in 21 days, if no deal is done, it’s off to the races!”
Trump also threatened, once again, to declare a national emergency and order the military to build the wall if Democrats do not agree to compromise.
President Trump added, “21 days goes very quickly. Negotiations with Democrats will start immediately. Will not be easy to make a deal, both parties very dug in. The case for National Security has been greatly enhanced by what has been happening at the Border & through dialogue. We will build the Wall!”
This is a threat Democrats should take seriously.
“The president’s commitment is to protect the nation, and he’ll do it either with or without Congress,” White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told Fox News correspondent John Roberts.
If the government shuts down again in 21 days, this time it will be on Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and the rest of the Democrats.
President Trump bargained in good faith and is merely asking Pelosi and Schumer to fund barrier fences which they both had voted for back in 2006.
Trump offered four different honest proposals to fund the wall and address the Democrats immigration priorities such as protecting so-called “DREAMers” and TPS recipients.
And the Democrats have a soft underbelly in this fight.
Although the media trumpeted an Associated Press/NPR poll that showed Trump’s approval ratings had plunged to 34 percent as evidence that Trump had lost all his leverage because of the shutdown, the poll was wrong.
Multiple other polls – from NBC and Fox News – showed Trump’s approval ratings had remained unchanged from December.
In addition, the NBC news poll found Pelosi’s favorability ratings had sunk during the shutdown and she is now the most unpopular politician in America.
More NBC/WSJ poll: Pelosi’s negatives shot up during government shutdown more than any pol // now the most unpopular politician tested in the survey. pic.twitter.com/pSMBFydwx7
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) January 27, 2019
Finally, Democrats won the House because they flipped seats in districts won by President Trump.
Those vulnerable members felt the heat when the government closed and their constituents demanded they compromise with the President.
CNN’s Dana Bash reported that Trump’s message that Democrats did not care about the border broke through in these districts.
“I’m hearing from senior Democrats that they are hearing more and more from their rank and file, particularly the new members who tend to come from more moderate districts saying they’re getting pounded because the Trump message, the Republican message that they don’t care about border security has started to seep in as well,” Bash reported.
Can Democrats withstand three more weeks of this messaging onslaught?
We will keep you up to date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
