Former FBI Hostage Negotiator Reveals What It Will Take For Trump To End Shutdown
With no end in sight, the ongoing partial government shutdown is the longest in United States history. President Donald Trump’s insistence on receiving funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border has caused a widespread crisis, leaving more than 800,000 federal employees without pay.
As Fortune reported, the costs of the shutdown will likely surpass the cost of the wall itself. The crisis has, according to the same source, caused many government workers to file for unemployment benefits.
As detailed by a December report by the Inquisitr, President Trump, in his fight for a border wall, appears to be fighting an uphill battle — although his threats of government shutdown had managed to persuade prominent Democrat Chuck Schumer to compromise, offering $1.6 billion for the wall. But, Trump remains adamant in his fight for $5.7 billion.
Dozens of lawmakers, economic experts, and policy experts have weighed in on the situation since its inception, but the very issue of a prolonged stalemate has not been thoroughly addressed in the context of political strategy. By attempting to push the Democratic Party into a corner, President Donald Trump appears to have created what looks like a hostage crisis, refusing to budge or to compromise.
These developments have prompted CNBC to reach out to former FBI international kidnapping negotiator Chris Voss. Voss, who was also a member of the New York City Joint Terrorist Task Force for 14 years, predicts that Trump’s shutdown will “last a little longer.” According to him, Trump is unlikely to back down until he starts losing support from his base. The base “is going to have to feel it some more,” Voss claims.
Former Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn: Shutdown is "completely wrong" https://t.co/1SCV4oehaW
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 17, 2019
“People make their decision over what’s the biggest loss. And, until he’s really worried about the loss of his base, he’s not going to make a deal,” Voss opined.
As a negotiator, according to former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss, President Donald Trump is “assertive” and “openly aggressive.”
“He’s actually the kind of negotiator that as a hostage negotiator I had to learn how to get the upper hand on, without making them mad, without making it worse.”
But Trump’s aggressive negotiation style will not do him any favors in the long run, according to Voss. In his opinion, “people get tired” of dealing with openly aggressive negotiators, so Trump is likely to “start having problems long term.”
The Democratic Party’s strategy, according to the hostage negotiation expert, is effective. House and Senate Democrats have made the right decision in wanting to “ride out the storm” created by the president. Voss’ advice to the Democratic Party is simple: maintain the strategy, and display patience.
“Calm is contagious. Patience preserves relationships,” he concluded.
