Trump's Shutdown Is Already Backfiring on Him

By Ben Meiselas

The Trump shutdown is here. Donald Trump is behaving like a demented schoolyard bully while Americans suffer. At a time when families are staring down missed paychecks, shuttered services, and skyrocketing health care costs, Trump is posting juvenile photos of himself pointing his finger at Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. That’s his idea of leadership. Not solving problems. Not ending the crisis he created. Just making weird faces for the cameras and bragging about his Trump 2028 hat, as if “dictator for life” is a punchline instead of a terrifying glimpse into his real intentions. It’s very weird behavior.

I’ve spoken to Governor Gavin Newsom, who confirmed that when he previously spoke with Trump, Trump could barely focus on anything and instead balled about his “Trump 2028” hat as well. It’s both bizarre and dangerous. The world is watching a man in decline, obsessed with personal power and vanity, while the American economy is buckling under the weight of his government shutdown.

And let’s be clear about the damage. The new ADP payroll report shows the U.S. lost 32,000 private sector jobs in September. Economists had expected gains of 51,000. On top of that, August was revised downward from modest growth to a net loss of 3,000 jobs. Small and medium-sized businesses are taking the biggest hits. You don’t need a chart to understand what this means. You’re living it. The job market is freezing up like we only see in major recessions. Real people, real families, real communities are being crushed.

So what do Trump and his MAGA cheerleaders do in response? They giggle about Trump’s hat. They defend his AI deepfakes mocking Democrats with racist tropes. They appear on Fox News and call it “humor.” Mike Johnson, the so-called Speaker of the House, went on ABC and defended Trump’s behavior as if this were just late-night comedy. JD Vance sat on Fox and acted like the most pressing issue in America was whether Schumer and Jeffries looked uncomfortable when Trump played dictator cosplay.

https://www.meidasplus.com/p/trumps-shutdown-is-already-backfiring