During an interview with MS NOW on Tuesday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said that one reason why President Donald Trump’s numbers have declined is because “We effectively shut down the government over a really important issue, the stealing of people’s healthcare. We are shutting down the Department of Homeland Security right now because they’re acting illegally.”
Co-host Chris Hayes asked, “I’m curious, as you look at the trajectory of the last year, how you understand the deterioration of his political standing, in sort of three different lanes: Decisions you and the Democratic Party as the opposition have made tactically, conditions in the country, and overreach and mistakes that they have made? Like, how much do you think this is — his weakened position is borne by good politicking by Democrats, and how much of it has been other things?”
Murphy answered, “I think it’s a bet he made that has gone wrong. He decided that his second term was going to be an organized kleptocracy…and that if he, at the same time, destroyed democracy, destroyed dissent, he could get away with it. The problem is, he hasn’t gotten away with it. … Now, part of that is that Democrats haven’t made mistakes every single day, right? We effectively shut down the government over a really important issue, the stealing of people’s healthcare. We are shutting down the Department of Homeland Security right now because they’re acting illegally. We have been able to leverage the power we have in a way that has been, not always, but at times, pretty damn effective.”
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