Trump's real message may have been 'Republicans, please stick with me'

By James Pindell GLOBE STAFF JANUARY 09, 2019

Here are two things President Trump left unsaid during his first prime-time Oval Office speech on Tuesday night that were important: The partial shutdown of the federal government will continue for quite some time and “Republicans, please stick with me.”

On Saturday, the current shutdown will become the longest in American history.

Instead of announcing a compromise or even the highly controversial end run of announcing a national emergency, Trump, over the course of his speech, reiterated the same points the Republican has been making since the shutdown began. Then the Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, reiterated their same positions.

While national networks cut into their programming, the reality was more like a typical presidential weekly radio address and a Democratic response.

What movement there is in Washington — Republicans beginning to get wobbly with the president’s position — might have been the real reason the prime-time address happened in the first place. Indeed, Trump may have been largely speaking to a group of people he could have just invited over to the White House.

more
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/01/08/trump-real-message-may-have-been-republicans-please-stick-with/vXaHoIu867XPjRBXhXr8wL/story.html