The Guy Who Thought Up ‘the Wall’ Says Trump Should Shut Government to Fund It
The president seems to agree.
On Thursday afternoon, President Trump caused more apoplexy among Republican lawmakers by saying he won’t sign a stop-gap funding bill if it doesn’t include the $5 billion he wants to fund his border wall—effectively signaling he’ll allow a partial government shutdown when funding runs out Friday night. “We’re going to go back and work on adding border security to this,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said after meeting with the president. Democrats refuse to fund “The Wall,” and without their agreement, Trump won’t get it.
As markets slid further in light of the news, the likelihood that the U.S. government might shut down over a border wall spat looked even more mind-boggling—especially since building the wall wasn’t Trump’s idea. In fact, he was disinterested when it was first suggested to him. As I recount in my book on the 2016 campaign, Devil’s Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency, the idea for the wall was devised by frustrated Trump aides, primarily Sam Nunberg, annoyed that their candidate wouldn’t stay focused on the issue of immigration: