The government shutdown and partisan wrangling over a wall at the southern border have produced high political drama in Washington, where President Trump has sought to portray the impasse as a national emergency.

And as the shutdown reached a record 22nd day on Saturday, Americans following local and national media coverage would be forgiven for thinking they had fallen into a parallel universe — with the episode being presented both as a moment of crisis and hardship, and a curiosity that mostly registered as a politically motivated annoyance.

Early in the week, the historically conservative Cincinnati Enquirer labeled the paralysis a “buzzkill,” warning readers that the lag in government approval of new beer labels could reduce the output from local breweries. Several days later it reported on 40 Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky government employees protesting outside a local I.R.S. processing center, focusing on the financial difficulties furloughed employees face, like day care expenses and rent payments.

Polls show that more Americans blame the president for the shutdown than blame congressional Democrats. But there is a very stark partisan divide, with a large majority of Republicans supporting Mr. Trump.