I think people will see who is moving and who is blocking. If Trump gave up the wall without a fight, then I'd agree that he might be finished, but he didn't and he'll get credit for that.
I think Trump knows about brinksmanship, but he's used to dealing in a corporate world where people on the other side of the table understand about fiduciary responsibility and doing the right thing for their businesses.
I think Trump is truly surprised at how far Pelosi was willing to take brinksmanship, given that she's talking about the safety of our nation, and possibly the world. I think that he must now think that he's dealing with a madman, because no sane person would risk so much for so little (relatively speaking) as she is willing to do.
Given the thinking that Pelosi is insanely focused on her own power, Trump is going to use the next three weeks for the rest of Congress to retake control of the negotiations and move forward in a more structured, familiar way. If they don't, can't, or it becomes obvious that Pelosi will not get out of the way, then Trump will pull the trigger on the emergency order or the Democrats will try to remove Pelosi from the Speakership.
That's going to be the play for the next three weeks.
-PJ
Hey, your hair isn't on fire, either. ;-)
There’s a panel of experts going to say what the best way to spend the money is, and some of that is going to be fencing, and a lot is going to be a bunch of other things. This could have happened in December.
“I think Trump is truly surprised at how far Pelosi was willing to take brinksmanship”
If he is surprised then he has very little understanding of his enemy.
They will go to do the death of tens of millions of Americans to get what they want. There is NO limit - except their own personal destruction- to how far they will go.
I’m not sure Trump understood this.