Just before the clock hit midnight, ushering in a government shutdown Saturday, CNN’s Chris Cuomo ripped Democrats and Republicans for failing to reach a spending deal.
During his Friday evening broadcast, Cuomo railed against members of Congress for stymieing productivity over President Donald Trump’s demands for a wall at the country’s southern border.
“How can we get anything done if the left and right can’t even agree on what to call the damn barrier?” Cuomo asked, frustrated by the hyper-partisanship that has enveloped Washington.
The cable host then begged lawmakers to re-open the government quickly, telling them to “do your damn jobs,” repeatedly emphasizing what he saw as a marked difference between “left, right and reasonable.”
Slamming Trump for focusing on a wall, Cuomo noted that a partial barrier already exists, while lamenting that the government was tied up over what he believes is small potatoes.
“It’s not even over a critical issue,” he said. “The wall is not border security.”
The real solution, Cuomo added, was collaboration.
“The only way you get safe is if both sides work together and make reasonable change to the system,” he said.
Though his criticism was bipartisan, Cuomo ultimately pinned the blame on Trump, arguing that he was the reason for Congress’ inability to function.
“The shutdown is on the president,” Cuomo said, “because he’s caused such division, he can’t even broker a deal on a side issue like this with the Democrats who’ve already offered to fund the barrier construction, like, just a few weeks ago.”