CNN has reluctantly acknowledged that President Donald Trump is winning the political battle over the ongoing government shutdown — a sharp contrast from his first-term standoff, when he took the majority of the public blame.
During Trump’s 2018-2019 shutdown, his approval ratings dropped by three points, with 61% of Americans blaming him for the impasse. This time, despite a similar standoff, Trump’s average approval rating has risen slightly, and only 48% of voters now blame him for the current shutdown.
Trump’s messaging has been direct: he’s using the shutdown as an opportunity to fire entrenched bureaucrats and permanently defund programs favored by the Democrat establishment. Even more notably, the administration has publicly confirmed this intent — and the public seems to be responding positively.
Unlike past shutdowns, where media outlets successfully framed Republican tactics as “hostage-taking” or “blackmail,” this time Trump’s message is reaching voters unfiltered. Analysts point to the weakening influence of legacy media as a key reason.
Instead of relying on CNN, MSNBC, or The Washington Post, Trump’s team is bypassing traditional channels and dominating social platforms with a simple, disciplined message: reopen the government, and then negotiate.
Meanwhile, Democrats are struggling. Party leaders like Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi face criticism for age and ineffectiveness, while younger figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez push an increasingly radical agenda. Their shutdown stance — refusing to reopen the government without unrelated concessions — is seen by many as incoherent and extreme.
Republicans have kept the issue focused: no taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants. That clarity, paired with the media’s diminished credibility, has left Democrats politically exposed.
With the mainstream media no longer able to carry water for the left, the Democrat Party’s fractured message and leadership vacuum are quickly becoming liabilities in a high-stakes national battle.
