CNN Roasts Trump for ‘Caving’ on His Own ‘Shameful’ Shutdown

Moments after President Trump announced the short-term end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history on Friday, CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin called out the president for his “shameful” shutdown tactics.

“Thirty five days,” Baldwin said to the camera immediately after Trump left his podium. “Thirty five days of federal workers rationing asthma medicine for their kids, sleeping in cars, driving Uber late-night shifts just to make ends meet and this man is not getting a single penny for his wall. Thirty five days. And people are applauding him.”

The CNN anchor continued: “This man singlehandedly shut down the government. It is shameful. I heard no explanation as to why he did this and why he accepted this deal, 35 days later. He still is not getting what he wants.”

During his Rose Garden speech on Friday, the president noted that if a new deal after the three-week stopgap does not include his proposed border-wall funding, “the government will either shut down on February 15th, again, or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency.”

“There is a four-letter word to describe what we just saw and that’s cave,” CNN’s chief political correspondent Dana Bash told Baldwin.

“This was a big cave,” added White House correspondent Jim Acosta. “I think this is one of the biggest tactical defeats for the president that we’ve seen in his political life.”

Echoing Baldwin’s disgust with people applauding the president for his 35-day shutdown, Acosta continued: “You could see the vice president, you could see Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, cabinet officials, other top officials applauding as if this was some sort of victorious moment. That was just right out of Alice in Wonderland, to see the White House and people inside the White House applauding the president during one of the biggest tactical defeats, strategic defeats of his political career.”