… Since Trump took office, it’s been clear that his primary (if not exclusive) focus has been on delivering wins to his base of support, the people who powered him through the primaries and who still, despite his sliding poll numbers, will don a MAGA hat and show up at a rally on a work night. The wall is central to Trump’s promises to his base and to his identity as a candidate, and, so, if he has to shut down the government to get it, he’s going to get that wall.
In that context it makes sense. In the broader context of a president aiming to deliver for the American people (with an eye toward reelection) it doesn’t make any sense at all.
We’ve had a slew of polls on Trump’s wall proposal, and there’s a consistent theme to the results. Most people — Trump’s base excluded — don’t want the wall, don’t think the wall will happen, don’t think Congress will pay for the wall and, obviously, don’t think Mexico’s going to pay for it, either. CONT.
Philip Bump, Washington Post