Maggie Haberman

And now Trump is very dramatically taking the lead and gave a bunch of interviews to television reporters on Thursday morning saying various versions of why this bill shouldn't exist and why maybe Mike Johnson shouldn't be the speaker if he can't push through what Trump wants.

And now Trump is very dramatically taking the lead and gave a bunch of interviews to television reporters on Thursday morning saying various versions of why this bill shouldn't exist and why maybe Mike Johnson shouldn't be the speaker if he can't push through what Trump wants.

Right. I mean, look, I think it is true that he, that is what he thinks. Whether he's right or not, Michael, I mean, you know, Trump forced a shutdown when he was president. And he was pretty surprised that he ended up getting blame for it. But Trump doesn't suffer a ton of durable blame. I think that most voters are fairly tuned out right now.

Right. I mean, look, I think it is true that he, that is what he thinks. Whether he's right or not, Michael, I mean, you know, Trump forced a shutdown when he was president. And he was pretty surprised that he ended up getting blame for it. But Trump doesn't suffer a ton of durable blame. I think that most voters are fairly tuned out right now.

If there's a shutdown and people are not getting paid, they are going to blame Trump. In part, they'll blame President Biden-ish, but really they're going to blame House Republicans because that's who's going to take the fault. And Trump will just point it back to them. I don't think it's going to have a meaningful difference.

If there's a shutdown and people are not getting paid, they are going to blame Trump. In part, they'll blame President Biden-ish, but really they're going to blame House Republicans because that's who's going to take the fault. And Trump will just point it back to them. I don't think it's going to have a meaningful difference.

I don't think it's helpful, though, for Republicans who are entering with unified control, Congress, Senate, the White House, just as they did in 2017, to begin this way with this kind of chaos. Is there a world in which...

I don't think it's helpful, though, for Republicans who are entering with unified control, Congress, Senate, the White House, just as they did in 2017, to begin this way with this kind of chaos. Is there a world in which...

We are going to get to a point where Trump has been doing a lot of promises made, promises kept. But the promises made, promises kept so far are about the kinds of appointees he wants to make or his vows of trying to curtail the media and so forth and so on. Those are not things that impact voters' daily lives.

We are going to get to a point where Trump has been doing a lot of promises made, promises kept. But the promises made, promises kept so far are about the kinds of appointees he wants to make or his vows of trying to curtail the media and so forth and so on. Those are not things that impact voters' daily lives.

And to Katie's point, once we start getting to whether people's daily lives are impacted positively or not by him, that's what his presidency will ride or die on.

And to Katie's point, once we start getting to whether people's daily lives are impacted positively or not by him, that's what his presidency will ride or die on.

So this is like the purest form of delight Trump could have, is all of these wealthiest people in the world, Bezos, Elon Musk, a bunch of tech leaders, coming and seeking his favor. And it's not just tech leaders, Michael. You know, he had Justin Trudeau troop down to Mar-a-Lago, only to be called a governor by Trump, who was describing Canada as the 51st state.

So this is like the purest form of delight Trump could have, is all of these wealthiest people in the world, Bezos, Elon Musk, a bunch of tech leaders, coming and seeking his favor. And it's not just tech leaders, Michael. You know, he had Justin Trudeau troop down to Mar-a-Lago, only to be called a governor by Trump, who was describing Canada as the 51st state.

This is different than what Trump's 2016 inauguration and lead up in his transition was like. Trump was also facing an investigation at the time into whether his campaign had ties to Russians. And Russia had, according to the intelligence community, meddled in the 2016 election to try to hurt Hillary Clinton. And so all of that made a different atmosphere.

This is different than what Trump's 2016 inauguration and lead up in his transition was like. Trump was also facing an investigation at the time into whether his campaign had ties to Russians. And Russia had, according to the intelligence community, meddled in the 2016 election to try to hurt Hillary Clinton. And so all of that made a different atmosphere.

But Trump likes nothing more than a convert. And all of these tech leaders are showing that they have seen the value and wisdom of what he – has been saying. And Michael, his 2016 win was entirely unexpected and it was also pretty close. Right. This was pretty decisive. And it's really hard for people to keep describing him as a fluke. He's not the interregnum. Joe Biden was.

But Trump likes nothing more than a convert. And all of these tech leaders are showing that they have seen the value and wisdom of what he – has been saying. And Michael, his 2016 win was entirely unexpected and it was also pretty close. Right. This was pretty decisive. And it's really hard for people to keep describing him as a fluke. He's not the interregnum. Joe Biden was.

It is a fact. Donald Trump is a very transactional person. He's pretty open about that fact. He's what people in New York used to call a deals guy. So that is how he views the world. On the part of some people who are reaching out to him, there is clearly a fear that he is going to use what levers of power he has to try to enforce – against them.

It is a fact. Donald Trump is a very transactional person. He's pretty open about that fact. He's what people in New York used to call a deals guy. So that is how he views the world. On the part of some people who are reaching out to him, there is clearly a fear that he is going to use what levers of power he has to try to enforce – against them.