Trump's shutdown has now affected some of the most popular museums in America and shuttered the National Zoo. Visitors are irate.
Tourists are angry that Trump's shutdown is preventing them from visiting some of the world’s best museums as well as America's national zoo in Washington, D.C. Local businesses are also experiencing financial troubles as the fallout from Trump's temper tantrum continues.
All the museums of the Smithsonian are shut down, including the Air & Space Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Natural History Museum, the National Museum of American History, and the National Portrait Gallery.
In an interview with WJLA-TV, Floridian Barbara Shultz called the shutdown "stupid," adding, "America is great and we’ve shut down all the museums and a premiere attraction. It’s an abortion."
Trump threatened in December to shut down the government unless Congress gave him $5 billion to fund his wall on the southern border. Before the shut down, he boasted that he would be "proud" to do it and would take full responsibility for it.
Now that he has the shut down he wanted, he has tried to blame others, even though polling shows that Americans largely blame him and his fellow Republicans for this mess.
After the Smithsonian announced on Twitter that it would have to shut down until Trump approves funding for continued operations, questions were raised about the welfare of the animals at the National Zoo.
The Smithsonian reassured concerned Americans that "essential personnel are on hand to care for the animals at the National Zoo."
Under normal circumstances, the world has been able to watch the Giant Panda Cam, which broadcasts video of pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang, and Bei Bei.
But Trump’s shutdown means, among other things, there is no staff to operate the broadcast. So the Panda Cam is now offline.
Thanks to Trump's shutdown, businesses that rely on customers visiting some of the nation's top tourist destinations are hurting as well. Yael Krigman, who owns a bakery in Washington, told the TV station, "When the zoo is closed, they don't come, it's hard for us but I still honor my commitment to pay my staff — all of my expenses."
Trump and the GOP shut down the government on Dec. 22, and 800,000 federal workers are out of work and not being paid. National park facilities across the country have been closed or are not being maintained, creating a major environmental hazard as waste piles up uncollected.
Yosemite National Park announced that several campgrounds are "closed due to human waste issues and lack of staffing."
Americans and travelers from across the globe cannot see many of the country's national treasures. Children cannot see pandas, elephants, or other animals at the zoo in the nation's capital.
Aside from a handful of tourists muttering “this sucks” and “what the hell” at the shuttered National Zoo this morning, there was this boy who came back twice, as if he expected the gates to suddenly open again. @WTOP #GovernmentShutdown pic.twitter.com/KyJYRcndy9
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) January 2, 2019
This is all happening because Trump is having an extended temper tantrum about wanting to waste billions of dollars on wall that will serve no national security purpose, but will appease Trump's racist base — even though Trump had promised that base during his campaign that Mexico, not American taxpayers, would be paying for it.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
