Trump's attempt to divide Democrats spectacularly fails as House members refuse to meet with him until shutdown ends

Donald Trump couldn’t even lure conservative Blue Dog Democrats to the White House in his ongoing efforts to pin responsibility for his government shutdown on Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The full list of Democrats invited isn’t public, but what is known is that White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that “Today, the president offered both Democrats and Republicans the chance to meet for lunch at the White House. Unfortunately, no Democrats will attend.”

Two co-chairs of the Blue Dogs did come forward to say they’d turned down the invitation. Rep. Lou Correa’s spokesperson struck just the right note, saying that “Congressman Correa welcomes the opportunity to talk with the president about border security, as soon as the government is reopened.”

Rep. Stephanie Murphy claimed a scheduling conflict, but also offered a similar message, saying in a statement that, while she has met with Trump at the White House before, “I continue to believe the Senate should pass and the president should sign the bills reopening government that the House already passed. As a former national security specialist at the Pentagon, I look forward to having a meaningful, bipartisan discussion about the best way to secure our country.”

When Trump can’t even get the Blue Dogs to a meeting, you know he’s losing the public opinion battle.