Neither Trump nor Congressional Republicans would continue with the shutdown debacle except for one thing: they’re counting on Democratic empathy and compassion.
They assume that, at some point, Congressional Democrats won’t be able to ignore the hardships federal employees are enduring by not getting their regular paychecks. They’re counting on Congressional Democrats being concerned about the average citizens who are as equally impacted. They believe they can ‘hold the line’ because Democrats are empathetic and compassionate.
And they are correct: Democrats do care about the people.