Washington Free Beacon editor in chief Matthew Continetti said Friday that the White House has an opportunity to help President Donald Trump's reelection bid by striking a deal with Democrats to get "some type of barrier" on the southern border to please his supporters.
Continetti's comment came during a discussion on Fox News' "Special Report" about both chambers of Congress passing a short-term spending bill earlier in the day to reopen the federal government temporarily. The measure, which does not include Trump's requested $5.7 billion for a border wall, would reopen the government through February 15, ending the partial government shutdown that began at midnight on Dec. 22.
Continetti said that Trump has to worry about both his base and the rest of the country's opinion as he prepares for a reelection campaign in 2020, adding that the latter opposes Trump's border wall.
"President Trump was fighting against the most powerful force in American politics. It's not Nancy Pelosi, it's public opinion," Continetti said. "I think the White House should look at this as an opportunity to begin to turn the ship around and head toward reelection in 2020."
"There is a deal to be made," he continued. "Even though [Chuck] Schumer is adamantly against the wall, Pelosi in her press conference today was very vague about what might be included in this deal from the Conference Committee. There is the opportunity, I think, to get some of these freshman Democrats who came to Washington with their voters expecting them to solve problems to back some type of barrier. It might not be the wall of President Trump's dreams, but all he needs is a little bit in order to please his constituents heading into reelection."