Page 1375 - Leverage News Today

In, then democrats take over the congress. then they have less political leverage on the right. it just seems to me like this is all for naught. it seems a fait accompli. >> reporter: let me just kind of relay what ive heard from republican staff and senators and members of the house in both chambers over the course of the last 24 hours. they recognize the political reality of the moment. they recognize the reality of the dynamics in terms of what the next steps most likely are. what ive been to...

Sides with the president at the helm could have come together and negotiated because they made it quite clear, the president made it clear i want $5 billion. democrats made it quite clear maybe well give $1.6 billion. and there is room for negotiation in between that. and i think that is critical moving forward. we can all agree we do want a secure border and we want -- it is an important national security issue. but whether or not the wall is the way to go about doing it, that remains to be see...

And without the united states and our leverage and our influence that we have been able to exert inside multilateral institutions, now were not because this president doesnt believe in those institutions. >> sam, finally, real quick, how do you think our enemies see this move, this decision? >> well, i think that our enemies, like isis, see this as a prime opportunity to prove the president wrong. he has said that isis is defeated and is really goading them to say, look, were not defeated. we ca...

>> they talk about the government shutdown. theyre going to be taking about the president of the united states, who was the president at that time, theyre not going to be talking who the head of the house was, the head of the senate, who is running things in washington, theyre going to be discussing one person. so i really think the pressure is on the president. >> all right. so things are very different now. earlier in the week, he said ill take the mantle, put the shutdown on me. now he is tal...

So, over the past few years, ive watched trump supporters in the right wing media strain credulity to defend some of the presidents worst comments and policies and behavior, from paying off porn stars to protectionist trade policies, from ballooning the debt and deficit to actual criminal behavior. it seemed nothing was a bridge too far for some. well, what a difference a week makes. take a look. >> trump gets nothing and the democrats get everything, including control of the house. >> he loses,...

Thinking. what are you hearing? >> he met with senators today in the midst of all of this. and his position truly is that he wants to stand firm on the $5 billion number. it is critical. and knowing full well when the democrats take control of the house in january, the leverage of republicans is going to be tremendously reduced. so right now he is standing firm on that. he feels as though he is in a better negotiating power if he stands firm on this. but no, this is not good to have a government...

Recipients, why not just pony up the $3 now, and end this shutdown? >> well, i dont think they want to do that without a valuable tradeoff, and right now the tradeoff is not really up for discussion so much as the presidents demands for the extra money. also, there is no more faith really between the two sides. weve been talking about that in various ways. but the president for a while, remember the good old days of, you know, him wanting to work with chuck and nancy, that doesnt exist anymore r...

The office. this stretches out to several days and weeks and going long after the holidays. thats going to be a problem for them. by the minute, they are losing leverage because of the newly empowered house democrats are going to take over and things are going to be different for them. theyre well aware of that. they are waiting to see what the president is going to say. >> pence and kushner up on the hill today are discussing with president trump before leaving tonight and now theyre waiting to...

The other hits the president has taken this week, wouldnt it be a good time for those gop lawmakers to have a little bit of leverage if they wanted to push back against the president? >> i think it is on the president, and youre seeing more and more republican senators, members of congress, speaking out, not just against this, the frustration for mitch mcconnell was palpable, but also on issues whether it is general mattis, or other resignations, we certainly, lindsey graham, who is a big suppor...

And then we heard the response from the conservatives and he changed his mind. >> i have a feeling that theres going to be something very close to that continuing resolution coming up very quickly because they know that this doesnt look good. even the republicans sort of want this to continue, they know that they would have a little more leverage if they acted right now rather than january 3rd. >> all right, thanks so much. >> thanks, victor. new details emerging about the health of justice ru...