GOP Rep. Says It Would Be ‘A Mistake’ For Trump To Shut Down Gov’t Over Wall

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, gestures as he speaks during a Town Hall meeting in Moore, Okla., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. U.S. Reps. Frank Lucas and Tom Cole are hosting a series of town hall meetings across the sta... U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, gestures as he speaks during a Town Hall meeting in Moore, Okla., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. U.S. Reps. Frank Lucas and Tom Cole are hosting a series of town hall meetings across the state during the next couple of weeks while Congress is in recess. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) MORE LESS
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Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) on Wednesday said he would “strongly advise” President Donald Trump against threatening to shut down the government to obtain funding for his proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I think it’s always a mistake to shut down the government,” Cole said on CNN. “Look, you make life worse for the American people. You put the country at risk.”

He said a government shutdown would show “political dysfunction, particularly when you control the presidency, the Senate and the House.”

“So I would strongly advise against any threat to shut down the government of the United States,” Cole said.

During a campaign rally Tuesday in Phoenix, Trump suggested he would push to tie funding for his proposed border wall to a must-pass government spending bill when Congress returns from its recess.

“The obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it,” Trump said. “But believe me, if we have to close down our government, we’re building that wall.”

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Notable Replies

  1. Why can’t you just come out and say: “Trump is our mistake, and the GOP apologizes for that, America”?

  2. Trump: Fire me. You dont have the guts to do so. I will do what I want. All of Republican supporters belong to me.

  3. I’m fuzzy on the whole “good/bad” thing, Egon. What’s “bad”?

  4. Ah, yes, the old ‘obstructionist Democrats’ lie. The minority party is gumming up the works for the majority party. The minority party is demonstrating in favor of the good sense for NOT putting up the wall. The minority party is making majority party members uncomfortable at so-called Town Halls (when the majority party come out of their lairs to actually talk to their constituents).

    Yup, it can’t possibly be because it’s a bad idea that this funding hasn’t taken place yet.

  5. Avatar for j.dave j.dave says:

    Forget taking him literally.

    Forget taking him seriously.

    I want to know when someone will take him peacefully.

    Asking for a country.

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