SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
President Trump is in Florida today. That wouldn't be particularly notable, except there is a government shutdown that is creating more and more real-world consequences, including that impending lapse in SNAP benefits. This is not an isolated trip for the president. NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith reports Trump has spent nearly two weeks outside of Washington since the shutdown began October 1.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: When President Trump arrived in Malaysia earlier this week, he was greeted by a brass band and dancers. Trump got in on it, too, as described in this color commentary that went out on the White House video feed.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: In rare, lighthearted moment, President Donald Trump has joined the Malaysian dancers, moving to the cheerful rhythm of the ensemble.
KEITH: It was the start of a weeklong trip to Asia that included stops in three countries, but it also marked a significant break with how past presidents, including Trump himself, have approached government shutdowns. They have typically avoided the bad optics of skipping town during a crisis. In 1995, President Clinton canceled a trip to Japan during a shutdown. Republicans controlled Congress at the time. Leon Panetta was Clinton's chief of staff.
LEON PANETTA: We spent a number of days in the Oval Office basically negotiating with both Speaker Gingrich and majority leader Bob Dole because the last thing we wanted to do was to have the government shut down.
KEITH: During the 2013 shutdown, then-President Obama canceled a four-nation Asia trip. And in 2019, President Trump had a trip planned to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: If the shutdown continues, I won't go.
KEITH: The shutdown continued, and he didn't go. That shutdown lasted 35 days, the longest on record. An NPR analysis finds that during that period, Trump only left Washington for six days, and there were no visits to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
This time is quite different. During the monthlong shutdown, Trump has gone to Florida twice, golfed at his club in Virginia,and visited the Middle East and Asia - 13 days on the road so far with more to come. The White House position on negotiating is different now, too. Vice President Vance spoke to the press yesterday.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JD VANCE: We're not going to give in on policy demands under the threat of hostage taking.
KEITH: He said Republicans won't negotiate with Democrats until they vote to reopen the government. The GOP-controlled House of Representatives has been gone all month. The Senate voted 13 times on the same funding bill and failed each time without enough Democratic support. Democrats say they want to negotiate. Doug Heye was a House Republican aid during the 2013 government shutdown, and he doesn't fault the president for leaving now.
DOUG HEYE: Whether he's going to events in foreign countries or just sort of living life, none of that interferes with what the core argument is, which is Republicans saying, we've done our job - Democrats, step up and do yours. To do anything different would actually cut against their own messaging.
KEITH: But Leon Panetta, who served in Congress and multiple Democratic administrations, sees it differently.
PANETTA: They're basically walking away from the very responsibility that they should be exercising as elected officials. I mean, that's what's depressing about all of this.
KEITH: White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended the president's travel, saying he secured massive investments in the U.S. economy. Tamara Keith, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
