If Trump wants to have even a chance of winning in 2020, he needs to end the shutdown now

As the partial government shutdown continues into its fourth week – leaving some 800,000 federal workers without paychecks and cutting important government services and programs – the American people are blaming President Trump.

In the days leading up to the partial shutdown, the president declared that he would take full responsibility for closing down part of the federal government to bolster his demand for $5.7 billion in funding from Congress for a wall or fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Despite his later attempts to shift the blame to Democratic congressional leaders, Americans continue to blame President Trump for the shutdown.

A recent poll by Quinnipiac University shows that 56 percent of Americans says the president is responsible for the shutdown. This is further supported by polls released over the past nine days from the Washington Post/ABC, CNN, CBS/YouGov, Reuters/Ipsos, and Politico/Morning Consult that all show Americans are blaming President Trump for the shutdown.

The president’s approval ratings have been on a steady decline since November, according to the RealClear Politics average of polls. With most Americans blaming him for the continued government shutdown, the president’s power to negotiate grows weaker every day.