An Ohio Democrat articulated what most pundits have been saying since the shutdown: President Trump is owned by his base and the uber-conservative media players who rile them up.
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Wednesday, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) suggested that Trump is appeasing people like Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham because he’s concerned about “what’s coming down the pike” in the Russia investigation.
“Let’s just put this all in perspective, the main problem here is he’s worried about the investigation that’s breathing down his neck right now, so his only goal is to appeal to Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh,” Ryan said. “We saw the flip-flop a week or two ago when they didn’t like the deal he was going to make and he changed immediately. He feels like he has to protect that base because he fears what’s coming down the pike in the investigation. As long as that’s the case you have the tail wagging the dog and we are going to get government from Rush Limbaugh’s studio in South Florida.”
After being raked over the coals by conservative media allies last month, Trump decided to yank his support from a bipartisan spending bill — that would’ve kept the government open until February — and push for funding for his border wall instead, tossing the government into a partial shutdown.
Dem suggests U.S. is being governed from "Rush Limbaugh's studio" pic.twitter.com/6MHNmPh4SG
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) January 2, 2019
During his “Morning Joe” interview, Ryan also said that the Democratic Party was “absolutely” united behind incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), a swift flip-flop from his stance in recent months. Ryan was among the faction of Democrats who opposed Pelosi’s speakership bid because of an interest in electing new leadership
