On Dec. 22, 2018, the government was officially under a partial shutdown. Since this shutdown, the media has been quick to blame the death of bipartisanship for the shutdown and the consequences thereafter. Perhaps the media is at least somewhat correct, but from my perspective, I do not see a failure of Congress—I see a failure of a president.
Sometimes, Congress simply does not work, and I understand those occurrences. For years and years now, we as Americans have complained our Congress has been broken. This was true before President Donald Trump, it is true during Trump and it may be true after Trump. Presidents deal with opposition. If congress never gave Trump a spending bill to sign, or if they gave Trump one so laughable he could not possibly sign it, then I would understand the president’s dilemma. What is often forgotten in this whole debacle though, is how Trump did have a chance to secure his big, beautiful wall, but the writer of “The Art of the Deal” choked at the negotiation table.
According to Seung Min Kim of The Washington Post, “Democratic leadership [offered] a plan [to Trump] to pair the $25 billion in border wall cash and a pathway to citizenship for a broader dreamer population of about 1.8 million.” This was reported back in March of 2018, months before our shutdown, and was a bipartisan compromise America demanded for over a decade. Trump, for some reason, refused to agree to the deal, citing his desire to improve other immigration policy.
Of course, this deal was denied by Democrats, and Trump’s $25 billion wall was dead. Now, Trump is asking for $5 billion for the wall, a far cry from what was offered just a few months ago, but now with a Democratically controlled House, Trump’s only option is to try and save face by denying everything put in front of him.
Just before the shutdown started, Jacob Pramuk of CNBC reported, “The Senate unanimously approved legislation to keep the government funded through February 8.” While that is not ideal, it would have prevented a shutdown and all the consequences thereafter, with bipartisan support.
Bipartisan support and unanimous agreement, though, did not seem good enough for Trump. He refused to sign the bill, and demanded his border wall, therefore killing any chance for a bipartisan bill to be passed. Democrats and Republicans actually came together to prevent a shutdown, but Trump forced their hand nonetheless. He even stated on camera he was “proud to shutdown the government,” according to MarketWatch.
Let us fast forward to 2019. According to Kristina Peterson of The Wall Street Journal, “House passed a spending package aimed at reopening the federal government,” but “Trump has already notified Congress that he would veto the House bill.”
This now marks three proposals Trump has refused to sign that either fund his wall or prevent a government shutdown. Each one had at least some bipartisan support, with one passing the Senate unanimously. 
None, however, were good enough for Trump, who now, According to Seung Min Kim, Erica Werner and Josh Dawsey of The Washington Post, has warned, “The partial government shutdown could go on for months or even years.”
Trump does not care about the millions of unpaid Americans who now face eviction, foreclosure and much worse, thanks to his shutdown. He wants his wall. He wants his political victory, and sees those affected as pawns.
There is a reason Republicans and Democrats tend to join forces to avoid government shutdowns: Americans hate them. They hurt everyone in some way, shape or form, but Trump has never had to live paycheck-to-paycheck or needed government assistance. He does not understand the undue burden is placed on millions of Americans because he has never had to live it.
All he wants is his wall. For once, let us not blame Republicans, Democrats, foreigners or our fellow Americans. This is Trump’s shutdown.