Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty
David Dunn and I joined international outlets on Thursday to discuss political, economic, and social prospects after the end of the record-setting 43-day US Government shutdown.
We explain why eight Democratic senators joined Republicans to end the closure. We examined the Trump Administration’s “scorched earth” tactics, threatening the firings of 700,000 furloughed Government employees, food assistance and other welfare, and transport including air travel.
And we note that, if Republicans do not compromise for an extension of tax credits for healthcare — amid a rise of more than 100% in premiums for many Americans — another shutdown is possible when Government funding has to be renewed at the end of January.
Watch Al Arabiya English from 10:16
I knock back Trumpist spin and disinformation to highlight the primary issue of healthcare. I consider whether there is a lasting split among Democrats.
We are not just dealing with the doubling of the premiums. We are dealing with Donald Trump, who says he wants to scrap the Affordable Care Act altogether.
And I explain the relationship of the shutdown to the Trumpist effort to block any release of the case files of the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
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David Dunn considers the shutdown as part of the polarization and dysfunction of US politics.
He considers why the Democrats “blinked” and gave the appearance of division and in-fighting.
Both parties don’t come out terribly well. But opinion polls clearly show the public blame the Republicans because they are in charge of all three branches of Government.
Trump in particular is seen as having partied during this crisis.
