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The two leading Republicans in Congress arrived at the White House this week, armed with props to flatter and cajole President Trump of the government's closure at the end of this month.
The Speaker of the House, Paul D. Ryan (Wis.), Showed the President brilliant photos of a wall under construction along the US-Mexico border.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Brought an article from the Washington Examiner that described Trump brilliantly to handle the ongoing budget process and described the GOP as unified and breaking years of dysfunction.
Their message, according to two people aware of the meeting: The budget process is going well, the wall is already under construction and there is no need to close the government. Instead, they tried to persuade Trump to postpone the fight for more money at the borders until after the November elections, promising to try to get him the desired result, according to the people who demanded anonymity. were not allowed to reveal the details of the private discussion.
The visual aids were a subtle but clever attempt to convince a known president to prefer visual images to typed documents, and eager to absorb flattery at a time when the White House is shrouded in chaos.
[‘The sleeper cells have awoken’: Trump and aides shaken by ‘resistance’ op-ed]
But it could take weeks to find out if the effort was successful, as the calculated intervention came during another week, when Trump showed he was struggling to follow the advice of GOP leaders or trust to his impulsive instinct Republican base.
One of Trump's main campaign promises was the construction of a wall along the border with Mexico, but Congress prevented him from getting the necessary funding. Much of the current construction is being done to replace walls and barriers that have been around for years.
Trump initially promised that Mexico would pay for the wall, but he recently asked American taxpayers for money for the project. He wants $ 5 billion for 2019, which few legislators consider possible. On Friday, Trump said the money could come from Congress or he could try to divert it from the Pentagon's budget, adding even more confusion to the planning.
Uncertainty has overshadowed the budget process at Capitol Hill as lawmakers work desperately to finalize spending bills to fund government operations before the current funding runs out on September 30 – unable to know if their efforts will ultimately be thwarted by a Trump veto.
"You know, he does what he does," said Rep. Dennis A. Ross (R-Fla.). "We have to take control of ourselves, and we have to put the president on the table so that he signs a package of credits and lets him account for his decision."
Since March 1, Trump said he would lead the government into a partial closure if legislators did not approve of the money he wanted for the wall.
Earlier this year, Trump got furious several mornings when he saw media coverage of a giant spending bill, which was heavily criticized by the Conservatives for being swollen and filled with liberal priorities.
"They crush me," Trump told his associates, referring to what the Fox News Conservatives said about him.
Thus, according to the head of the administration, Marc Short, then director of legislative affairs at the White House, presented to the president a list of what the spending program had done for the agenda of Trump. Trump calmed down by learning more about what was in the bill but told assistants that he wanted people to support him on television.
Short repeatedly told legislators that they needed to get people on television if they wanted Trump to support the bill – and that was the key to signing the law.
Most recently, the chair made it clear to key staff that he was wondering whether to support another spending bill. During a recent flight to Pennsylvania, Trump questioned advisers to find out if he should close the government. He asked everyone to give his opinion and seemed undecided.
Kellyanne Conway, among others, opposed it, said White House officials.
The uncertain outcome of the mid-term elections further complicates the process. If Democrats take control of the House, it could become even more difficult for Trump to get money for a border wall.
The leaders of the GOP are convinced that they do not have the votes to appropriate the money even now, when they control both houses of Congress. They try to avoid a messy fight just before the midterms.
Trump initially seemed to agree with them Tuesday, telling the Daily Caller that he did not want to be arrested.
But Wednesday, just before the meeting with Ryan and McConnell and while they were sitting by his side, Trump was talking about the possibility of a new stop.
"If that happens, it happens," he said.
After Ryan and McConnell presented the various images to Trump, the president changed his mind again. On Thursday, in an interview with Fox News, he said that a fight on the wall could wait.
"I do not want to do anything that could hurt us or hurt us, because I feel that Republicans will do very well" in the midterm elections, Trump said in the interview.
He said: "Most likely, I will not call for a closure, but we will do it immediately after the elections."
Trump spoke to Fox News in Billings, Mont Blanc, where the crowd at a rally approved his approval for a closure. Some congressional Republicans fear that, despite all the persuasion offered by the GOP leaders, Trump reacts most strongly to the emotions of a grassroots who wants to see him fight for the wall, his signature campaign promise.
[Trump raises the specter of impeachment at Montana rally]
At the White House meeting on Wednesday, Trump was assured he would support funding for the wall after the mid-term elections, said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.).
"He is very passionate about voting and, again, by obtaining local funding," said Thune, who attended the meeting. "And I think what we've been trying to do is convince him that the best way to do that is to fund the government, do our job and advocate on that. . . day. . . . I wanted to get out of this meeting that everyone was in the same place.
Thune said Republican leaders thought the government's closure could lead the GOP to lose a number of congressional races in "those districts that we must win to keep the house".
GOP leaders have found that the most effective way to influence Trump's thinking is through constant, careful and repeated communication, in close collaboration with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney. make last-minute decisions.
Democrats, who also want to avoid government closure, seem to follow this approach.
"If you do not like his point of view on something, wait 24 hours," said Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a member of the Senate Credits Committee. "There is no particular reason to rely on a position he has taken, and the smartest thing we can do is to prepare bipartite bills that have sufficient support at the legislative and to put good bills on his desk. "
To show congressional leaders that he had not made a decision on a closure, Trump appeared to rely on journalists 'question Friday on Air Force One – while saying that the legislators' advice is competing with the persuasion of the radio and television personalities.
"I would do it because I think it's a big political problem," he said. "I read and I watched the other day, there are people for whom I respect a lot. Rush Limbaugh says it's the best thing to do. Mark Levin, the best thing to do. Your friend [Sean] Hannity, the best thing to do.
"There are a lot of politicians I love and respect and with whom I prefer not to do it because they have races, they are fine, they are ready. The way they see it, maybe, could be bad.
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