CNN called attention to Donald Trump staying largely out of the public eye on day one of the first government shutdown of his second term.
Anchor Erin Burnett kicked off OutFront noting that the president, who “loves to be seen,” had not made any in-person statements to the public Wednesday. Though Trump has been posting occasionally on Truth Social and did tape an interview with OANN, his withdrawal from the spotlight still stood in contrast to how he has presented himself over the last few weeks.
“We have not seen Trump today. We have not heard from Trump today. We haven‘t heard his voice,“ Burnett began. ”On the first day of a government shutdown, as the Trump administration says layoffs are imminent, there is no sign of the president of the United States. And it is no secret to anyone, anywhere in the world that Trump loves to be seen.“
Burnett then showed Trump doing various things in front of cameras—signing executive orders, speaking to reporters outside the White House, and attending a state dinner in the U.K., for instance—over the last few weeks.
“He loves to seize the moment, but today we have not seen him anywhere as of 7:00 p.m. Eastern, as a government shutdown enters its 19th hour with no end in sight, and Trump‘s team is threatening imminent layoffs,” she noted.
That may be because Trump doesn’t want the public to associate him with the shutdown, CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny said.
“[Trump’s absence] signals first and foremost, he does not want to be out front or the face of this shutdown, at least in its opening day,” Zeleny said. “Of course that could change and likely will change as the hours and days go forward.”
Zeleny added that Trump’s removal from the spotlight “does not mean the president and his administration officials are not doing things behind the scenes, because they are,” citing the administration moving to withhold about $26 billion in previously approved funding, the majority of which was for Democratic-leaning states.
“After talking to a variety of officials here at the the White House and around the president, they also believe that there may be a possibility to get a few Democrats on board to vote for this,” Zeleny continued, referring to the GOP’s government funding proposal.
“They believe that the pain point is significant enough. That is one reason, according to an official, that the president was not out front poking people directly.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
Later in the show, former Washington Post columnist Philip Bump said it’s possible Trump “understands that resolving this means not getting in a fight with Democrats beyond what he already has.”
“It may be a reflection, too, that he’s distracted by something else, which also happens with President Trump,” Bump added.
The post Trump Dragged for Absence on First Day of Shutdown appeared first on The Daily Beast.
