By Daniel Nardini

If this happens, it may well be the thing that kills Trump’s bid to be reelected president of the United States. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has urged U.S. Republicans in the U.S. Congress to let the shutdown of the entire U.S. government take place. There is a dangerous deadline for the whole government to shut down if a new government budget is not approved. Apparently, Trump is trying to let the government shut down in order to embarrass the Democrats. In my view, this calculus could not be more wrong. Trump does not seem to recall the Republican attempts to shut down the government in the 1990’s under then a Democrat U.S. President Bill Clinton. There was indeed backlash all right by the American people to the shutdown, but it was against the Republicans who lost the congressional elections. Their timing so close to such elections could not have been a worse decision.

If the Republicans comply meekly to Trump’s decision, it too could not be worse timing. So close to an election it would not only cost Trump the election but also the Republicans in the U.S. Congress. I am sure that some Republicans are wondering how terrible an idea this is. They are probably struggling against their Democratic opponents. They could easily lose if they vote for a government shutdown. Even those Republicans who are in a much more favorable position could have a terrible time explaining to their constituents why they voted for a government shutdown. Think of the all the services that will not be available to the elderly, mothers with children, the poor, the unemployed, and also our veterans. These people are already struggling, and a government shutdown just for the political posturing of one man would make people more than upset to vote Democrat.

All of this will simply reveal the unfitness of Donald Trump to be president of the United States. If he can do such incredibly unpredictable things now, imagine what he can do if he is president again! Would the American people want such an old, extremely unpredictable man to run the country? Would America’s allies want such an unpredictable man at the head of a military alliance like NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)? There are now a whole list of reasons why so many Americans will not vote for Trump to be president again, and telling Republicans to shut down the government would be the icing on the cake. All of this would show in this election that he is truly unfit to be president, and would lead to a slaughter for the Republicans. History may be repeating itself. I would seriously urge the Republicans to examine what happened to them under former U.S. President Bill Clinton as a cautionary tale of what can happen when an old, paranoid and delusional individual starts dictating what a whole party should do that can not only have BAD consequences for them, the country, and for the world.