Proper-wing media shops are downplaying the devastating results of presidency shutdowns, regardless of the large destructive impression earlier shutdowns have made on the U.S. economic system.
Led by multibillionaire Elon Musk, Republicans scuttled a bipartisan proposal to maintain the federal government funded forward of the Dec. 20 deadline. With out the passage of a funding invoice, the federal authorities must enter a partial shutdown.
On Fox Information, host Sean Hannity didn’t see an issue.
“I think it’s a misnomer that a government shutdown is the worst thing in the world. We survived a 30-plus day shut down in 2019,” Hannity stated throughout his broadcast on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday, Fox anchor Bret Baier echoed the sentiment, noting, “if you get a government shutdown, there’s a lot of people in America that say, ‘You know, it’s okay, isn’t it, for a couple days?’”
On Newsmax, host Greg Kelly particularly advocated for a shutdown.
“Go ahead and shut it down. What’s the big deal? They talk about it like it would be the Armageddon. Shut it down. The government shuts down every weekend. No problem. Shut it down,” Kelly stated.
His fellow Newsmax host Chris Plante stated, “I love a good government shutdown. I always enjoy a government shutdown no matter the time of year, but Christmas makes it especially nice, I think.”
The professional-Trump media shops share the identical sentiment as Donald Trump himself, who wrote on his social media account, “If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under ‘TRUMP.’”
Vice President-elect JD Vance claimed that in opposing the Trump and Musk-approved revised spending invoice that failed to safe passage, Democrats “asked for a shutdown, and I think that’s exactly what they’re going to get.”
There have been two authorities shutdowns underneath Trump in his first time period, together with the longest one in American historical past lasting for 35 days. The Congressional Funds Workplace later assessed the injury the shutdown that spanned from December 2018 to January 2019 brought about and estimated that it diminished the GDP of the U.S. by $3 billion.
Not solely did the shutdown trigger a monetary hit, however “nonessential” companies just like the Nationwide Parks had been closed. These closures led to huge pileups of rubbish and feces at a number of the premiere points of interest which have been some extent of satisfaction for American tradition.
Shutdowns result in furloughs of lots of of hundreds of federal staff who don’t obtain paychecks till the shutdown is resolved. Employees on the TSA are required to work with out pay, and prior to now they’ve known as in sick—resulting in journey delays.
Republicans might finally discover a solution to keep away from a shutdown—if they’ll please “co-presidents” Trump and Musk—however Republicans will proceed to function with extraordinarily slim margins in Congress that they need to please. Defections can result in comparable laws being stalled and should set off future shutdowns, which regardless of the protests of right-wing media, are in reality a “big deal.”
