Much to the chagrin of right-wing commentators like Rush Limbaugh, President Donald Trump just walked back his pledge to include funding for the border wall in next year's federal budget, as he faces a looming government shutdown this week.
On his radio program Tuesday, Limbaugh blasted the president for seemingly giving up on his promise to fortify the border and said that he's "very, very troubled" by Trump's move to back off his demands to Congress.
"If this happens, if Trump does — and I use the word 'cave' guardedly," Limbaugh said, "if he is willing to withdraw a demand of his for a measly billion dollars for the wall because the Democrats are threatening a shutdown then the Democrats will have just learned that this threat works on Trump, too, not just all the other Republicans."
White House officials told CNN late Monday that the president was willing to sacrifice $1 billion in funding for the border wall if it would ensure that the government does not shut down by the end of the week.
"Trump, I'm sure, does not ever think he caves on anything. But outward appearances are what they are," Limbaugh said of Trump's move.
He went on to argue that a looming government shutdown is a perennial problem for the Republican Party. The popular radio host also predicted that the "drive-by media" will try to pin a shutdown on conservatives anyway.
Limbaugh suggested that Trump instead welcome the government's closure.
"Not having a shutdown has been the single focus of Republican policy for I don’t know how many years now," he said. "And it has translated into the Democrats being able to deny Republicans most of what they want and Democrats to get what they want. You know, once they get away with it, they’re gonna keep trying. And if they get away with it once, they’re just going to keep using it."
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