Rhetoric by President Trump and congressional Democrats is making it more difficult for the two sides to reach an agreement that would end the partial government shutdown, Real Clear Politics Executive Editor Carl Cannon said Monday.
“In this case, you have an impasse that’s going to be very hard to fix,” Cannon told Hill.TV’s Jamal Simmons on “What America’s Thinking.”
“The president has been running on this for three years. This is why he ran for office,” Cannon said. “The Democrats have convinced themselves that this is a symbol of racism; white supremacy is the phrase they use. Well, you can’t negotiate that away.”
“Each side has really got themselves rhetorically in a position where it’s hard to compromise,” he added.
Cannon’s comments come after the record-setting shutdown entered its fourth week, with no sign of compromise over the issue of funding for Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The president has requested $5.7 billion in funding for the wall. Democrats have refused to appropriate funds for wall construction.
Trump on Monday rejected a proposal by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to sign a stopgap spending bill without wall funding in order to buy more time for negotiations with Democrats.
“I’m not interested. I want to get it solved,” Trump said. “I don’t want to just delay it. I want to get it solved.”
— Julia Manchester
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.