The White House is a Goddamn Comedy of Errors Today

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | December 20, 2018 |

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | December 20, 2018 |

So, Paul Ryan came out of a meeting with the White House earlier and said that he’d had a very “productive” meeting with the President, who has decided not to sign a continuing resolution keeping the government open until February, so I’m not sure how “productive” that meeting really was. In other words, unless the House and Senate come up with $5 billion to fund The Wall, there will be a partial government shutdown.

BREAKING: Speaker Ryan says President Trump will not sign short-term continuing resolution passed by Senate. https://t.co/vNp0vlw0TF pic.twitter.com/PeZWvSF5lo

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 20, 2018

Irony: Shutting down the Homeland Security Department to protect the border.

— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) December 20, 2018

The reversal seems to have been triggered by Trump’s base, and specifically, people like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, who have been needling Trump this week for caving to Democrats. The partial government shutdown will make them happy.

Rush Limbaugh just stated @realDonaldTrump notified him personally that he is either getting money for the border, or he is shutting the government down.

— Chris Stigall (@ChrisStigall) December 20, 2018

Rush Limbaugh before top of the hour break: "The president got word to me 20 minutes ago that if it comes back to him without money, if whatever happens in the House and Senate comes back to him with no allocation of $5 billion for the wall than he's going to veto it."

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) December 20, 2018

Ann Coulter gets dunked on every time she gets mad at Trump, but here's the thing: He also totally backtracks on whatever supposedly squishy thing he was about to do. Every time.

— Andrew Egger (@EggerTWS) December 20, 2018

The House might be able to pull off a bill that the President would sign by tomorrow, but there’s no chance in hell of it passing in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed and guess what? Some Republicans are already skipping town, like Bob Corker, who has spent his very last fuck and has zero left to give.

CORKER: “Mitch is on the phone with Paul now, so….” *corker starts laughing*

Q: Why are you laughing?

Corker: “Well, why not?”
///
Corker: “Ya’ll have fun! I may not see ya’ll again for a while…”

Q: You’re not going to come back from TN for votes?

Corker: “I doubt it.”

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) December 20, 2018

Q: What’s going to happen?

CORKER: “Who knows? Does the person sitting beside him at the WH know?”

*Ted Cruz walks by and says to a reporter: “I think we need to follow through and fund the wall.”*

*Corker starts laughing again.”

CORKER: “You can’t make this stuff up!”

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) December 20, 2018

Corker is not the only Senator bailing.

Sen Johnson: “I’m not sure what leverage the president thinks he has at this point, the way you create leverage is keep this issue alive and keep arguing you do need to secure our border.”

Says he’s likely going home to WI, was told he’d get 24 hours notice if a deal happened.

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) December 20, 2018

And Susan Collins with the “Are you kidding me?” reaction.

Susan Collins almost dropped her handbag as she gestured disbelief at word, delivered to her by reporters, that Trump would not sign the continuing resolution unless border wall money was added.

“Did he just say that? Ugh, are you ruining my life,” she asked?
@tedbarrettcnn

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 20, 2018

Screw it. At least the stock market is soarin …

NEW YORK (AP) — Dow sinks 500 points, bringing its losses since Friday to over 1,800 points; Nasdaq down 20 percent from its August peak.

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 20, 2018