Dems Issue Threat and Even CNN is Like WHAT!?

Preston Comments On House Consideration

Well, well, well—look who suddenly discovered the art of shutting down the government. After years of pearl-clutching about how Republicans were “destroying democracy” every time they even considered a government shutdown, some Democrats are now floating the idea themselves. And even CNN’s Mark Preston—who is about as far from a conservative firebrand as you can get—had to admit this is absolute insanity.

Preston, to his credit, actually called it out for what it is: political nonsense. If you’ve spent years screaming that shutdowns hurt working Americans, tank the economy, and undermine national security, how do you turn around and argue for one just because you’re mad that Trump is trimming government fat? The mental gymnastics are something to behold.

Democrats have been in a complete meltdown over Trump’s budget cuts, particularly after high-profile figures like Elon Musk started slashing wasteful grants left and right. Take that $17 million taxpayer-funded program for tax advice in Liberia—because, of course, what hardworking Americans in Kansas or Ohio really care about is making sure foreign bureaucrats get good accounting tips. The left’s reaction to these cuts proves what most Americans already knew: Democrats are far more concerned with protecting bloated government spending than actually helping American citizens.

“Let‘s just take a step back and think about what the American people think about Washington, D.C.,” Preston said. “They think very little about Washington, D.C., right? So when they see President Trump going in there and you see Elon Musk going in there and saying, ‘I’ve just cut $17 million.’ He just said he cut a $17 million grant to teach, I don‘t know, tax advice in Liberia. Guess what? The person out in Kansas certainly doesn‘t care about what‘s going on in Liberia right now.”

And now, since they can’t stop Trump’s agenda through normal means, some Democrats, including Sen. Andy Kim, are floating the idea of forcing a partial shutdown as some kind of protest. His logic? We’re on the “cusp of a constitutional crisis” because the administration is “taking steps that are so clearly illegal.” Ah, yes—the classic Democratic strategy. If Trump does something they don’t like, it must be illegal. No need to cite specific laws or explain exactly how streamlining the federal government is unconstitutional—just throw out some dramatic rhetoric, hope the media amplifies it, and wait for the outrage machine to kick in.

Preston, at least, can see what a disaster this messaging is. He pointed out that Democrats are utterly failing to sell their position to the public, especially on spending cuts. Trump is out there making a clear, simple case: Washington wastes your money, and I’m going to stop it. And as Preston admitted, to the average voter, it doesn’t matter if it’s Trump or Elon Musk doing the cutting—the point is that someone is finally doing it. Meanwhile, Democrats are stuck trying to defend foreign aid projects, DEI initiatives, and endless government bloat while simultaneously arguing that a shutdown is suddenly a great idea when they do it.

“Crazy talk to do that,” he continued. “How can you argue for a government shutdown when you‘re arguing about government being cut? I don‘t understand that. I mean, it makes no sense politically to me, anyway. But what do I know?”

The cherry on top is that Sen. Cory Booker apparently laid out a three-pronged Democratic strategy to stop Trump—except one of those prongs is a “legal strategy,” which basically translates to: We don’t have an actual political plan, so we’re just going to keep suing Trump and hope something sticks. Another prong is legislative oversight, which is a joke considering Republicans control Congress. The final prong? Media messaging. And, as Preston basically admitted, they’re botching that, too.

"What do I know?" pic.twitter.com/4q6gyqz1kq

— Mark Preston (@PrestonCNN) February 11, 2025

Democrats are flailing because they don’t have a real counterargument. They’ve spent so long building up a massive, overreaching federal government that the idea of anyone actually scaling it back sends them into a panic. But throwing a tantrum and shutting down the government just to spite Trump? Even CNN analysts can see that’s a losing move. Maybe, just maybe, instead of wasting time on another performative protest, they should focus on fixing their own messaging disaster before March 15 rolls around. But then again, when have Democrats ever been known for self-awareness?