Donald Trump is now attempting something truly heroic, protecting his MAGA base from the consequences of the government shutdown he orchestrated. It’s like setting your own house on fire, then standing in the front yard yelling at the fire department for taking too long.
The Art of the Blame Shift
He’s been on television insisting that it’s the Democrats’ fault, the media’s fault, the deep state’s fault, possibly the weather’s fault, anyone’s fault but the man and his party who happen to be currently holding the flamethrowers.
This is vintage Trump, declare victory while your supporters’ paychecks bounce, their Medicare stalls, SNAP stops being funded so they starve, and national parks resemble post-apocalyptic film sets.
MAGA voters, bless them, are gamely repeating the talking points “This is a righteous stand!” they say, as the lights flicker.
This isn’t Trump’s first shutdown rodeo. The last one lasted 35 days, and he still bragged about how “strong” America looked. Now, with federal employees unpaid and vital services halted again, he’s calling it “a necessary correction.”
That’s a bit like calling an amputation “a calorie-cutting strategy.”
The MAGA Paradox
The funniest part is that the people suffering most from the shutdown are often his own supporters, rural workers, small-business owners, military families. He’s trying valiantly to convince them this pain is “patriotic.”
It’s not so much “draining the swamp” as draining everyone’s savings account.
But Trump’s base still cheers. If he told them the shutdown was to “teach Washington a lesson,” they’d nod even as they’re trying to figure out how to pay rent without a paycheck.
A Masterclass in Political Gaslighting
In Trump’s world, chaos equals control. The more Americans hurt, the more he can claim the system is broken, and that only he can fix it. It’s the political equivalent of an arsonist applying for a firefighter job.
He’s out there promising he’s protecting the “real Americans” from the elites, while quietly ensuring the “real Americans” can’t cash their unemployment checks.
The Final Joke
It’s funny, in that tragicomic, Guardian-headline sort of way. Trump is gloriously failing to shield MAGA from the shutdown, but doing it with the confidence of a man who is pathetically convinced that he’s winning.
He’ll call the pain “progress,” the failure “strategy,” and the shutdown “a victory for freedom.” And MAGA will applaud, right up until the Wi-Fi goes out at which point they’ll blame Biden.
PRAGMATIC ISSUES 
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