"Lawmakers have until Feb 15 to make a deal" - MSNBC chyron. Yuck.

NO. Trump has until Feb 15 to make a “deal” or risk looking like a caveman again. Don’t put monkey on shoulders of “lawmakers”.

Lawmakers have until Feb 15 to built a veto-proof majority, perhaps. Trump-handlers have until Feb 15 to distract the Twitter Toddler., maybe.

Or, Federal employees have until Feb 15th to find another job, sadly.

If a kidnapper makes a demand, you say “the kidnapper SAYS victims will die if ransom isn’t paid.”, or perhaps, “kidnapper threatens to kill victims if ransom isn’t paid”. You don’t say, “victims will die if ransom isn’t paid”.

Who is responsible? Dear chyron-writers at MSNBC — stop presupposing that it’s normal for a president to lay down DEMANDS for the sake of keeping the government open. Keep labeling it for what it is — extortion, threats, ransom, blackmail, a shakedown, mob tactics.

“Trump threatens another shutdown if he doesn’t get money” would be more accurate.