Key Takeaway The GOP’s refusal to open the government isn’t about fiscal conservatism. It’s about power, narrative control, and the normalization of chaos. Trump’s 2024 strategy depended on breaking faith in institutions so he could sell himself as the solution. But we’ve seen this hustle before. The 35-day shutdown of 2018–2019 during Trump's first term, caused by a dispute over expanding barriers on the U.S.–Mexico border. But like every old head will tell you — “Fool me o