A Republican senator from Kansas lost his cool when a news anchor mentioned that President Donald Trump thinks the government shutdown is hurting his party.
“How long can you afford this PR crisis?” NewsNation anchor Leland Vittert asked Sen. Roger Marshall on Wednesday’s edition of On Balance with Leland Vittert, to which Marshall shot back, “Leland, you’re a better journalist than this!”
Vittert pressed Marshall, noting Americans are feeling the pinch from food stamp shortages and canceled flights, before quoting Trump saying the shutdown is “negative for Republicans” and a “big factor” in the party’s election losses.
The Kansas senator, who is a Trump ally, went on to explain that despite Republicans controlling the House, the White House, and the Senate, it takes 60 votes in the Senate to fund the government.
“You’re right, I am a better journalist,” Vittert responded to the senator’s remark, adding, “I’m also a good enough journalist to know how things are playing politically and don’t ask me, ask the president of the United States.”
President Trump, 79, broke his own record for the longest shutdown in history, as the government entered its 36th day on Wednesday.
Though the Trump administration has been blaming Democrats for the shutdown, polls show that Americans are more inclined to blame Republicans. The president has reportedly been growing increasingly frustrated with the shutdown and had initially expected it to last no more than ten days.
On Tuesday, shortly after Democrats swept elections in the race for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the mayoral race in New York City, and secured a ballot measure approving new congressional maps in California, Trump took to Truth Social to write “‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters.”
“So do you also disagree with the president that the shutdown is bad for Republicans?” Vittert asked Marshall, who replied, “It’s not good for anybody,” further arguing that the Republicans want to reopen the government but will not compromise their budget.
The Republican-backed budget failed to pass the Senate for the 14th time on Tuesday, with Democrats demanding an extension of key health insurance subsidies before they would vote in favor.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that it would cut air traffic by 10 percent if the shutdown continues. Meanwhile, more than 40 million individuals and families receiving federal food aid will receive only 65 percent of their benefits this month due to the shutdown.
“It’s kind of like who’s the worst of the bunch,” Marshall said about the ongoing shutdown blame game.
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