The United States is going into the fourth week of the government’s shutdown, following the expiration of the federal budget and Congress’ failure to reach a funding agreement. While citizens who rely on federal programs are feeling the effects of the shutdown, many wealthy individuals in positions of power operate unaffected. This is especially true for President Donald Trump, who, amid the shutdown, has prioritized furthering his personal agenda rather than the needs of the American people.
While there are many state-specific impacts of the shutdown, countless hardworking Americans have been impacted by cut or at-risk food assistance, limited government litigation, missing paychecks and layoffs. In the midst of these compounding issues, the Trump administration continues to allocate its time and resources to areas that do nothing to relieve these burdens on the nation. We believe these mismanaged decisions will only prolong the shutdown and make its long-term impact more difficult to recover from.
Rather than actively taking steps to conclude the shutdown, Trump has somehow found funding for a roughly $300 million ballroom and seemingly endlessly expansion of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget. We believe President Donald Trump is prioritizing his own ego over the needs of Americans who are desperately looking for day-to-day relief.
The donor list for Trump’s ballroom consists of numerous corporations, including Apple, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Amazon, Google and Meta, just to name a few. Trump has also claimed a portion of the funding will come from his own pocket, though his name was not present on the official list released by the White House. Each private, tax-deductible donation will be made to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall. While Americans’ livelihoods are being deeply affected, the President is adamantly focused on organizing massive amounts of funds for vanity projects and promoting his agenda. This is extremely disappointing, seeing as these funding efforts could be put toward issues directly impacting Americans, and significantly improving lives.
Unfortunately, leaders prioritizing personal enrichment over the needs of their constituents is nothing new. Trump’s case bears a striking resemblance to that of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI of France. By the late 1780s, France was in financial ruin, and its people were starving due to crop failures. Despite this, royals continued to spend lavishly, plunging the country deeper and deeper into debt. This culminated in widespread riots and political anger that fueled the French Revolution. While we don’t envision a second American revolution stemming from this, history teaches us this kind of behavior from those in power only serves to further divide nations and create social unrest.
Not only have Trump’s actions throughout the shutdown shown a lack of concern for the livelihood of the American people, but he has also attempted to wipe his hands clean of any responsibility, solely blaming Democrats. This is ironic, following Trump’s own comments in 2013 under the Obama administration, when conversations were occurring over a possible shutdown.
“The president’s the leader, he’s got to get everybody in a room and he’s got to lead,” Trump said, going on to add, “In 25 years, in 50 years and 100 years from now, when they talk about the government shutdown, they’re going to be talking about the president of the United States, (asking), ‘Who was the president at that time?’”
Aging wonderfully, Trump’s words describe him to be responsible for the current shutdown. Choosing to ignore the fact this is happening during his presidency, Trump continues to blame politicians on the left. From webpage banners to email autoreplies, Republicans are pushing the rhetoric that this shutdown is entirely the Democrats’ fault. This finger-pointing behavior and overtly partisan blame are abnormal for the government, resulting in heightened political polarization, and ultimately, do nothing to solve the issue at hand.
There is a dire need for the current administration, and Trump himself, to take accountability for actions leading up to the shutdown and their responsibility to resolve it. Rather than focusing time and funds on projects that have no impact on the majority of Americans, we believe Trump urgently needs to prioritize the well-being of people nationwide over his own ego and administrative agenda.
