One reason modern presidents more often than not win such standoffs—whether it is Ronald Reagan firing the air traffic controllers in the early 1980s or Bill Clinton euchring Newt Gingrich during an earlier shutdown in 1995—is precisely that they can use the potent White House platform to shape the prevailing narrative about who is on the side of right. The opposition—typically not one voice but a diffuse and poorly synchronized chorus of voices—has trouble responding in kind.
In addition, presidents also have unparalleled ability to make news on command. One notable feature of Tuesday night’s address was that it lacked real hard news of the Associated Press variety: No announcement of an executive action, no new bargaining chip offered.
Trump’s language was somewhat new—though it had been presaged by remarks from the president and surrogates in the days before—but even this rhetorical shift could be interpreted as an indication that the president so far is not winning the public relations contest over the shutdown, and needs a softer message.
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