Another day, another desperate bid for attention by Trump.
Trump is planning yet another publicity stunt to bolster his losing argument for shutting down the government over his useless border wall.
Trump announced on Twitter that he will make a prime-time address to the nation on Tuesday night regarding "the Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border," as he put it.
The White House also announced that Trump plans to visit the southern border to meet with some of the few people who agree with him about the wall.
Trump has been pulling increasingly awkward stunts to try to gain more support for the wall. He recently staged a publicity gambit in the White House Briefing Room — his first-ever appearance at that podium — only to put some of his pro-wall supporters on camera and refuse to take any questions from the assembled news media.
But Trump's antics have done nothing to convince Americans that his wall is a good idea.
Polls show that Americans blame Trump and his fellow Republicans for shutting down the government over wall funding. Americans also reject Trump's attempts to shift blame to Democrats for the massive disruption the shutdown has already caused.
Democrats have proposed legislation to reopen the government that excludes the billions Trump wants to waste on the wall.
But Trump's highest-ranking ally, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY), is aiding and abetting Trump's useless exercise by refusing to schedule votes on reopening the government.
The shutdown is negatively affecting the lives of millions of people. Excrement is building up at national parks, marquee museums and the National Zoo are closed, and thousands of federal workers are either losing income or being forced to work without pay.
Additionally, thousands of pilots have warned Trump that his shutdown will endanger travelers across the world.
Instead of listening to the American people, Trump prefers to do the same publicity-hounding media stunts that he has for his entire career.
But getting viewers to tune in for another episode of The Apprentice is one thing. Playing games with the most important economy in the world is quite another.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
