Trump shock leaves Republicans anxious over 2019

GOP leaders were planning to roll out talking points blaming Democrats for a “Schumer Shutdown 2.0,” a reference to the Democrats’ short-lived closure of the government over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

That messaging plan was thrown out the window after Trump’s raucous exchange with Democratic leaders at the White House on Tuesday.

“We had to pivot from a messaging standpoint,” said a Senate GOP leadership source. “It presented some unique challenges.”…

“It doesn’t help with the messaging because we’ve spent the last 20 years trying to figure out how not to get labeled with the blame for a shutdown,” said one Republican senator.