Democrats and Republicans have unanimously agreed that Trump’s shutdown resolution was a “cave” to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The New York Daily News headline for the story was “Cave Man.” The Huffington Post’s was “This is a Cave, Not a Wall.” And right-leaning media outlets offered similar titles. Breitbart’s headline was “Pelosi Trumps Trump” and the Washington Examiner proclaimed that the “Art of the bad deal yields an ‘F’“.

That said, Democrats may be taking their victory lap a bit prematurely. After assessing the collateral damage caused by the shutdown, especially the very real potential threat from air traffic controllers/TSA that airline safety could become compromised, and petulant woman-child Pelosi’s absolute unwillingness to even consider a compromise, which is the only way resolutions are ever reached in Washington, perhaps the President was simply putting the good of the country ahead of politics.

Is it just possible that Trump was displaying leadership? After offering numerous concessions to Pelosi, which would have benefitted the very people she professes to fight for, and receiving instant rejections, Trump realized he had to take one on the chin. Someone had to be the adult in the room.

Pelosi’s position that a border wall is immoral, a sentiment echoed by many Democrats, may come back to bite them. Even CNN’s liberal host Dana Bash admitted (just before the shutdown resolution was announced) that Trump’s continuous messaging that Democrats are against securing our borders is sticking. This may become difficult to defend on the campaign trail, especially now that the frightening and often tragic results of illegal immigration have found the spotlight.

Fox News’ Griff Jenkins reported that over “100 gang members from El Salvador are among the massive wave of migrants that have poured across the border in recent months.” And now a third caravan has formed. Democrats will be forced to “own” the crimes that will inevitably result.

Prior to Trump’s decision to reopen the government without receiving any funding for a border wall, numerous Democrats went on record saying that a border wall was a reasonable part of border security and that once the government reopened, they would be willing to negotiate. I wrote about this here. Slowly, Democratic lawmakers appear to be defecting from the hard line drawn by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Pelosi.

Okay, Dems, the government has been reopened. Time to negotiate. If those who said they would be open to talks now refuse to come to the table, they will have to explain why they did so to their voters.

Trump has tried to work through the traditional channels to secure funding for a border wall. Although it’s possible, the President’s expectation of successful negotiations with Democrats to secure wall funding in the next few weeks is low. Therefore, it is expected that he will declare a national emergency to secure funding. Following a legal battle which will no doubt ensue, Trump will likely prevail.

In the meantime, Schumer and Pelosi are simply obstructing every one of Trump’s initiatives for political reasons. They’re not working to achieve any goals of their own. Their entire agenda is to work against the President. They’re not concerned with what’s best for the American people, only politics. How can they prevent Trump from achieving his signature campaign promise? How can they best position themselves to regain power in 2020?

Instead of gaining concessions, the Democrats have also walked away with nothing because of their wish to hurt the President. I bet the Dreamers who would have benefitted from Trump’s recent overtures aren’t too pleased by Pelosi’s adamant refusal to negotiate.

In a recent op-ed, Sean Hannity wrote:

What are the Democrats — what are Nancy and Chuck been standing up for? Actually nothing. There is no position here. They have only been placating what is now the radical extreme base of the socialist Democratic Party of today. And all they do is fuel their daily anti-Trump rage and hate. Now, you can either work with this president, do what’s right for the country or the American people will see you for who you are, just obstructionists, hating a president.

I think it’s safe to say the majority of American voters don’t support the new radical left agenda that so many Democratic legislators have recently embraced. Most voters expect lawmakers to find solutions to government deadlocks through compromise. When one side refuses to give any ground whatsoever, compromise becomes impossible. And that is a sharp departure from the way things have always been done in Washington.

Shedding all pretense of diplomacy, we hear Chuck Schumer, reading glasses set at the tip of his nose, telling reporters “I hope the President has learned his lesson” and Nancy Pelosi, who often doesn’t know what she’s talking about, saying that Trump doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

They believe they have won a great victory. And they aren’t alone. Many are saying Trump cannot recover from his “surrender” to Pelosi.

Newt Gingrich warns us not to count him out so quickly.

Over the next few weeks, as you listen to the anti-Trumpers relish the winter of discontent and pronounce the end of the Trump presidency, just remember — they were wrong in 2015 when they said he couldn’t be a serious candidate; they were wrong in the spring of 2016 when they said he couldn’t win the GOP nomination; they were wrong in 2018 when they said he should withdraw Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination. Why should you believe them now?