[Hoot Gibson]

Not Trump's fault Congress is hopelessly inept and corrupt. That's why they had a 12% approval rating before he ever came along and will still have it long after he is gone. You really think McConnell can be "bullied" by Trump or anyone else? Really?

First, I repeat - I'm not faulting Trump for failing to get funding for a border wall because I never expected that he would and I voted for him anyway. I am faulting him for poor timing and pursuing a strategy that had no reasonable chance of succeeding.

Next, let's use your number and recall the conditions that Trump faced when he entered office in January, 2017. He had just won a national election. Thanks, in part to Trump's coattails, Republicans had gained Senate seats.

As you said, Congress's approval rating at that time hovered around 12 percent. If facing a Congress with a historically low approval rating was not a good time to exercise the power of the presidency to get his top legislative agenda item enacted, then what would you consider a better time to do so?