One thing of which you can be absolutely sure in this convoluted world is that Donald Trump, American president, does not give a single airborne fuck about you. It doesn't particularly matter who you are, so long as your last name is something other than Trump. (Soon, even that caveat might be tested.) Any fleeting moment's thought he gave to you and your well-being and your future almost certainly popped into his head in relation to how you might best serve his interests. All the world may be a stage, but all its people are just various means to various ends.

So it's gone with the 800,000-odd federal workers who have been furloughed, or are working without pay, thanks to the government shutdown Trump caused single-handedly. Once upon a time, he readily accepted full responsibility for this—until he realized that was a big-old self-own and, inevitably, attempted to shove that televised event down the memory hole. Now, it's "the Democrat Shutdown," and he, Donald Trump, is the Brave Man of Principle left "all alone" in the White House this Christmas. "(Poor me)!"

The Washington Post Getty Images

The World's Most Powerful Man took a break from offering unusual Christmas greetings this holiday season to suggest "many" furloughed federal workers want him to hold out and keep the government shut down until he gets funding for his Big, Beautiful Wall. No serious person believes the wall will halt undocumented immigration or the flow of illegal drugs. It stretches credulity, to say the least, that some significant number of ordinary people are willing to go without pay for weeks at a time—and often have their lives and financial futures pulled to the brink—to help the president build White America's Giant Middle-Finger to the World.

Trump himself seconded this notion by, one day later, suggesting the same group of people were mostly Democrats:

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Have the Democrats finally realized that we desperately need Border Security and a Wall on the Southern Border. Need to stop Drugs, Human Trafficking,Gang Members & Criminals from coming into our Country. Do the Dems realize that most of the people not getting paid are Democrats? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 27, 2018

So now they don't support shutting down the government for The Big, Beautiful Wall, and the president is just using their lives as bargaining chips after enraged resentment-mongers on talk radio and Fox News came after him for failing to build The Giant Middle Finger. It's almost like he does not care at all about these people, an idea his administration seems eager to drive home. The Office of Personnel Management published some advice for furloughed federal workers, flagged by CNN's Bill Weir, that can only be described as Let Them Eat Paint.

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Trump Administration tweets out advice to furloughed federal workers who can’t afford to pay their bills. Among the tips: Offer to do painting or carpentry for your landlord in lieu of rent. https://t.co/xAJTI0Nea4 — Bill Weir (@BillWeirCNN) December 28, 2018

Here's the form letter in question:

Dear (Name of Company or individual with whom you have spoken)

This is to confirm our conversation of (date) in which we discussed a temporary reduction in my monthly rent.

As we discussed, I am a Federal employee who has recently been furloughed due to a lack of funding of my agency. Because of this, my income has been severely cut and I am unable to pay the entire cost of my rent, along with my other expenses. ·

As we had agreed in our conversation, I will be able to make regular payments in the amount of $_______. I realize that I will be responsible to pay the remainder of the payments and, when I return to work, I will contact you immediately to work out a plan to take care of the reduced payments. I will keep in touch with you to keep you informed about my income status and I would like to discuss with you the possibility of trading my services to perform maintenance (e.g. painting, carpentry work) in exchange for partial rent payments.

I appreciate your willingness to work with me and your understanding during this difficult time.

Sincerely,

A Pawn in King Lear's Parlour Game

Apparently, these letters were first sent out by OPM during the Obama administration. That's a stunning indictment of Beltway decision-makers' detachment from rank-and-file employees, although President Obama did not single-handedly cause a shutdown as Trump is now.

SAUL LOEB Getty Images

It must be so gratifying to work for the United States federal government for years only to be thrown under the bus and, when you peek out from under the wheels, be told you should work out an indentured-servitude agreement with your landlord to play your part in the president's Big, Beautiful Con. But the suggestion public servants take a second job as pro-bono contractors wasn't necessarily the most detached prescription. The OPM also repeatedly advised employees who are struggling to make ends meet to retain a personal attorney. And who, exactly, is going to pay for that? Maybe these folks can repaint the offices at Dewey, Cheatem and Howe.

There are legitimate questions around whether Trump even really wants to build The Wall at all, or whether he merely enjoys talking about The Wall because he feels like it's a Winning Issue with The Base. Certainly, no one's told him it would actually serve its purported function—unless you count the lucky souls who, in a tradition dating back to those heady days filming The Apprentice, are tasked with reverse-engineering reality to conform to the delusory visions of the world continually belching forth from Donald Trump's gut.

No, The Wall is mostly just a circus act to get the people going. Unfortunately, more and more of us are getting pulled out of the audience and onto the stage every day.

This post has been updated to reflect that OPM first published the letters under the Obama administration.

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

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