The walls are closing in on US President Donald Trump with the government shutdown, according to Myles Hoenig, an American political analyst and activist.
Hoenig, a former Green Party candidate for Congress, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Sunday while commenting on Trump’s cancellation of his Christmas trip to Florida.
“Due to the shutdown, President Trump will remain in Washington, DC and the first lady will return from Florida so they can spend Christmas together,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement on Saturday.
Trump, who had been scheduled to spend the end of year holidays in his Florida resort with his family, said Friday he would call off his trip if he and Congress could not reach an agreement to avert the shutdown. However, he did not say how long he might remain in the capital.
“It’s hard to find a president more deserving of a rotten Christmas holiday than President Scrooge*, although this time there’s no ghost of Christmas future to show him how to mend his ways and live life happily ever after. For the first time, Donald Trump’s troubles, always of his own making, is forcing him to live with it without pawning it off on subordinates,” Hoenig said.
“As he said earlier when talking to [Senate Democratic Leader Chuck] Schumer and [Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi about the wall and the shutdown, he owns it. He owns far more than he expected when he became president. A failed CEO who rarely had to face the consequences of his own poor decision making, he’s now in a position of corporate leadership where his subordinates stand up to him, fight back, and laugh, not just behind his back, but openly in front of him,” he added.
“If he had any sense of historical understanding, his Nixonian presidency mixed with the outcry in France towards Macron would have him fleeing to Mar a Lago, where walls do exist. Staying in DC is not heroics but more of an acknowledgement of an abandonment by everyone around him. With today’s just announced immediate dismissal of [Defense Secretary James] Mattis by the end of the year we’re seeing the implosion of this White House and everything is in free-fall,” he stated.
“The shutdown is only one manifestation of the disease that has enveloped this administration. Even his most loyal supporters will soon see how toxic he is to them, and especially the Congress members forced to return to DC and then back out in their districts. They are going to have to defend the president’s decision or openly side with their constituents who will be most affected by the shutdown,” the analyst noted.
“It looks like finding the requisite number of Senators to vote for his removal is looking more and more doable as each day passes,” he concluded.
*Editor's note. Ebeneezer Scrooge was the main character in Charles Dickens's novel A Christmas Carol. He represented the individual who hates everybody and makes a mockery of the Christmas spirit.