I want to go back to the point I made this weekend, which is that President Trump’s threat to shut the government down and kick people off insurance (by pulling subsidies) if Democrats didn’t agree to fund the wall is just a big time political loser.

I stick to that point. But let’s see what now seems to be happening. President Trump’s advisors are now signaling that Trump plans to back down because he knows he’ll lose. In other words, Mr Winning, Dominating, Make the Best Deals is about to go Low Energy and walk away from a sure loss while trying to pretend it never happened.

Folks on the Hill are saying they don’t think there needs to be shutdown. President Trump’s key advisors and spokespeople are today saying, well, it doesn’t really have to be money for the wall. Anything tied to border security will do.

Let’s not ignore what’s happening here. President Trump’s OMB Director Mulvaney said very clearly: dollar for dollar, you get $1 for Obamacare (actually, one not taken from Obamacare) in exchange for every dollar you give us for the boss’s wall.

Even Trump got in on it …

ObamaCare is in serious trouble. The Dems need big money to keep it going – otherwise it dies far sooner than anyone would have thought. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2017

The Democrats don’t want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2017

Eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2017

And yet, just days later, Trump appears ready to go full low-energy, agreeing to call any money tied to border security or even paperwork a ‘wall’, not a ‘brick and mortar’ wall as Republicans have been explaining today but rather a conceptual ‘wall’ which is to say, not a wall.

Trump for either a major stumble by going for a shutdown test of wills or an ignominious fold, LOW ENERGY! SAD! and all the rest.