Donald Trump may have claimed that “I have never had so much support, as I have in the last week, over my stance for border security, for border control and for, frankly, the wall or the barrier,” but let’s put it this way: There’s a reason Trump himself keeps coming out to make the argument for his wall. That reason is that other people aren’t rushing out to defend him on the air.
A “former senior administration official” told Politico that “He’s sitting there going, ‘Why the fuck isn’t there anybody saying good stuff about me? Why is there nobody on TV that’s defending me?” Simple answers to stupid questions: Because you and your shutdown are super unpopular, and even most anti-immigrant fanatics aren’t all that excited about a wall.
The White House pushback on the idea that Trump is frustrated by the lack of support was singularly unconvincing. “We’re doing our very best to communicate with our surrogates and get the message out. The White House and the president always enjoy looking at the screen and seeing our surrogates and our friends on camera,” an unnamed official told Politico. “We’re doing our very best” does not mean “We’re doing well,” and “The president always enjoy[s] looking at the screen and seeing our surrogates” does not mean “The president is currently looking at the screen and seeing a lot of surrogates.”
So, lacking enough surrogates to argue and bluster and bully for his wall, Trump is making the case himself. Which means he now has two things to be unhappy about: the lack of surrogates tongue-bathing him on television, and the fact that he’s having to do some work.