Trump Claims That “Most” Workers Affected By Shutdown Are Democrats, Has No Proof, Misses Point Entirely

If you committed the sin of waking up and going about your day without checking the president’s early morning tweets, you missed this:

Have the Democrats finally realized that we desperately need Border Security and a Wall on the Southern Border. Need to stop Drugs, Human Trafficking,Gang Members & Criminals from coming into our Country. Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 27, 2018

That claim—that the shutdown has furloughed more Democrats than Republicans—deserves a couple responses.

1. I bet there’s no proof of this. (Does some research…) Yup, there’s no proof. If anything, the numbers are ambiguous, but it’s silly to get into a protracted debate, since President Tweets was just firing off talking points without regard for the truth, as usual.

2. Who cares? Isn’t the president supposed to represent the entire country? Am I understanding that role correctly? Is it supposed to be better for Trump if only the bad Democrat workers are getting hurt, or is it supposed to somehow implicate Democratic leadership since they’re allegedly hurting their own constituents by…well, by representing them and not giving in to Trump’s border wall?

A few members of Congress made this same point:

This is outrageous. Federal employees don’t go to work wearing red or blue jerseys. They’re public servants. And the President is treating them like poker chips at one of his failed casinos. https://t.co/bxkt67E9Bq

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) December 27, 2018

Once again, our “stable genius” President is spewing lies. US federal employees serve the United States—not one party. Guaranteeing that our dedicated government workers have financial security should not be a partisan issue. #ThursdayThoughtshttps://t.co/Q25iiKaYvR

— Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) December 27, 2018

Whoa. These shutdown workers work for the FBI & TSA (not GOP or DNC). They signed up to protect us & work for America regardless of party: Trump claims without evidence that ‘most of the people not getting paid’ in partial government shutdown are Democrats https://t.co/716V6r2jdv

— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) December 27, 2018

3. The border wall is just never happening—even the most capitulation-prone Democrats know better than to give in on that one—and in the meantime, the shutdown is both being associated with Trump, and hurting his already sagging approval rating. Playing political hardball can sometimes make sense, but this particular gambit can only hurt Trump both in the short and long term. Isn’t it time to give up?