President Trump and Republicans are losing the messaging war on the government shutdown in not one, or two, but three new public opinion polls.
The shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history, entering its 23rd day, and there appears to be no end in sight.
The shutdown affects about a quarter of the U.S. government and approximately 800,000 federal workers.
As Trump repeatedly declares he won’t reopen the government unless he gets funding for his border wall, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) are adamant that they will not fund the project.
Trump’s message on the shutdown — blaming Democrats for refusing to concede on his border wall — isn’t convincing the American public.
Instead, the majority of Americans think Trump and Republicans are at fault for the shutdown, according to three new polls.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 53 percent say Trump and the Republicans are at fault for the shutdown while 29 percent blame Democrats and 13 percent say both sides have equal responsibility.
A CBS News poll found similar results: 47 percent blame the president, 30 percent blame the Democrats, and 20 percent blame both.
A CNN poll also found Trump bearing the blame: 55 percent said he is responsible for the shutdown while 32 percent blame the Democrats and 9 percent blame both.
Trump’s disapproval ratings are also rising, with the CNN poll showing his overall rating getting worse by 5 percentage points since the shutdown started.
Trump had floated the idea of declaring a national emergency and using the powers granted to the president under an emergency to go around Congress to secure the funds for the wall.
Two-thirds of respondents in the Washington Post poll said they opposed such a move.
Last week House Democrats passed individual appropriations bills to open each Cabinet department that is closed.
Those are unlikely to be taken up in the Senate, however.
Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Capitol Hill on Monday although it’s unclear if that will be affected by the snow storm that hit Washington D.C.
None of the votes scheduled in the House or Senate for Monday evening deal with reopening the government.