Yes. If we don't get what we want, I will shut down the government. I am proud to shut down the government for
border security. The dumbest thing about the longest government shutdown in American history is how it started. For weeks, Trump asked for a budget that included $5 billion for a border wall. If we got $5 billion, we could do a tremendous chunk of wall. But Senate Republicans realized they weren't going to get Democrats to agree
to that. So on December 19, they passed a bill to keep the government funded until February
without a wall. Republicans will continue to fulfill our duty
to govern. It looked like everyone was going to enjoy
a nice holiday break in a functioning democratic
system. And then Trump turned on the TV. I'm troubled by what's going on. I feel like the Republicans have caved in
again. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, this was a
cave. Not funding the wall is going to go down as
one of the worst things to have happened to this
administration. Trump will just have been a joke presidency
that scammed the American people. To end this Congress without a shutdown? Trump gets nothing, and the Democrats get
everything. After two days of being attacked by Fox News, Trump told Republicans he would not sign the
bill to keep the government funded. The president informed us that he will not
sign the bill that came over from the Senate last evening. The president has gotten word to me that he is either getting funding for the
border or he's shutting the whole thing down. And so began the longest government shutdown in American history. 800,000 federal workers no longer getting
a paycheck. Shutdown could be making your food less safe. Consequences will soon be felt in all sectors
of the economy. The whole thing was a disaster for Trump. His approval ratings took a major hit. A plurality of Americans blamed him for the
crisis. And he didn't get the wall he wanted. Well, after 35 days, Trump changed his tune, agreeing to reopen the government for three
weeks. And while this might seem like another product of Trump's Fox News obsession, the truth is it's part of a bigger pattern of right-wing media pressuring Republicans into government shutdowns that blow up in
their faces. President Trump was attacked by the hard right and, fearful, he backed off his commitment
to sign this bill. It's a dangerous cycle that helps explain how government shutdowns are transforming from a rare crisis into just the new normal. Shutdown's over, but don't worry. In all likelihood, we will have another one. Could there be a round two? President Trump not ruling out another government shutdown. Before there was President Trump, before there was even Fox News, there was Newt Gingrich. In 1995, he became the Republican speaker
of the House, riding a wave of anti-Clinton sentiment and promising to get government spending under
control. The American people voted for a smaller government, for less bureaucracy. Gingrich had become speaker thanks to a group
of popular right-wing radio hosts, people like Rush Limbaugh and Oliver North, who had mobilized Republican voters by fearmongering about the size of the government. It's nice to be with all of you extremists
tonight. That became an issue when it was time to fund
the government. Republicans wanted a budget that made dramatic cuts to things like Medicare, but Clinton promised to veto it. So Gingrich had a choice to make. Come up with a compromise and risk betraying the talk radio hosts who helped you get in power, or refuse to budge, shut down the government, and hope Clinton caves. The pressure from the right was intense. One radio host told the New York Times, "This is the chance that we've been waiting
for for years. I'll be disappointed if Republicans in Congress
cave, and I think our listeners will be too." North agreed, saying, “If Republican leaders
back down now, they'll be swept out in ’96 right along
with Bill Clinton." Do you think Newt will moderate his stance now that he's the speaker of the House? And I said, better not. So Gingrich chose to gamble, shutting down the government for the longest it had ever been shut down
in American history. Gingrich believed that with the help of right-wing
radio, public pressure would turn against Clinton
and he'd have to cave. One of the reasons I believe in the end we'll
win: We now have a media giant who stands astride
the entire society. But Gingrich miscalculated. Rush Limbaugh was powerful but not that powerful. Gingrich was hammered as a crybaby throwing
a tantrum. Stories of the impact of the shutdown dominated
the news cycle. And Clinton became more popular, while people turned against the GOP. We'll remember in November! We will remember in November! Eventually, Gingrich was forced to back down. Republicans agreed to a compromise budget, and Clinton sailed to reelection the next
year. That shutdown was a disaster for the party. But that pattern, it was just getting started. In 2013, there's another budget fight. If standing for liberty makes you a wacko
bird, then count me a proud wacko bird. Republicans, led by Ted Cruz, want to defund
Obamacare, something they just don't have the votes to
do. But now they're not just being egged on by Limbaugh and some radio hosts. There's a whole army of right-wing talking
heads. And their demand is clear: Republicans right now, if they want to repeal
health care, they've got to shut the government down. There are talks about a government shutdown. If the Republican Party does want to get in
the game and push back, that would be where. We might get blamed for a shutdown. So what? It's the right thing to do. Some of these radio talk show hosts have real
influence. Many members of Congress are worried about
a primary challenge that could deny them the nomination. So Republicans shut down the government again. The government of the United States of America
has shut down. This time, they're trying to avoid another
Gingrich backlash. There's round-the-clock messaging about how
the shutdown is no big deal. We've gone through now 15 hours of a government
shutdown. I don't think anybody's feeling any great
pain here. Not just no big deal. It's actually good the government is shut
down. That's a dream for a conservative, when nonessential federal employees are not being paid with my tax dollars. Maybe we need to shut it down every couple
of years under this administration. Think where the economy would be! These people are f*cking nuts. Gingrich is now in on it too. He's gone from being a politician to just another right-wing pundit. This is not a crisis. A government shutdown isn't a crisis, Mr.
Speaker? No! Can't believe I'm rooting for Piers Morgan
in that exchange. My advice to the Republicans: hold the line. This will boomerang if you hold tight. It's still not enough. The 2013 shutdown ends much in the same way
as Gingrich's did. Republicans are forced to cave, Obamacare
survives, and most people blame the GOP for the crisis. We fought the good fight; we just didn't win. But now, on Fox, they're lauded for standing
up for their principles. The shutdown was so magnificent, run beautifully. I'm so proud of these Republicans. Ted Cruz was doing exactly what he was elected
to do. And a few years later, when it's time to fight
about the border wall, the cycle starts again. He has to hold firm on this. A shutdown is exactly what we need. I think the president should dig in his heels. Let's fight and get all we can. He can't reward Schumer and Pelosi by signing
this bill. What you're seeing is a party that's been
backed into a corner. Ever since the ’90s, Republicans have become
dependent on outlets like Fox News and Rush Limbaugh to rally their core supporters. If they betray their echo chambers, they could
lose their seats. I'm done with the Republicans if they don't
fight here. I will not support, I will not endorse anybody that doesn't have the courage to stand up
on this issue. But these two groups have radically different
goals. Governing requires compromise to get things
done and keep the government functioning. Punditry requires conflict: big, simple ideological fights to get audiences
fired up so they keep tuning in. Shutdowns are the clearest example of that
kind of conflict. Our side good, their side bad, build that
wall. Shut the government down. Everybody says, "Aw, that'll be terrible.” Terrible thing is to let the Democrats bully
this president, who was elected by the people of this nation. So the Republican Party keeps getting steered into crises it knows it can't win. This was the longest shutdown we've ever had. But on the right, the reaction was, “It
didn't go far enough.” He just reversed himself. That's a victory for Nancy Pelosi. He promised something for 18 months and he lied about it. One of the few voices trying to dial it back
was, and I cannot believe I'm saying this, Newt freaking Gingrich. He should not pay any attention to Ann Coulter. Ann Coulter's never run for office. She's off here in some fantasy land. She gets to be noisy, which helps her sell
books. Oh, my god. I mean, he's right, but it's not just Coulter. They're all trying to sell books. Newt Gingrich was on Fox News a week before cheering on the shutdown while trying to sell his book! Now author of the best-selling book Trump's America: The Truth About Our Nation's
Great Comeback. The president's position ought to be that we're not going to kick the can any further
down the road. Right-wing commentators have no incentive
to compromise. The more Republicans embrace shutdowns as
a political tactic, the more right-wing media will come to expect
and demand it from them. Donald Trump can win this. If he hangs on and continues down this road, at some point, there's going to be a shift. And you can hear it in the way Trump supporters defended his decision to reopen the government. For all the pundits who said over the weekend
Trump caved, that's a little early, isn't it? Because this is not done. This game isn't over. This is halftime at the Super Bowl. The pattern is already restarting. This war is not over. The battle may be over, but the war never
really ends. This president lives to fight another day.
