Republicans are trying to claim Democrats are in the driver’s seat when it comes to shutting down the government. That’s a pretty tough sell.

The Trump administration is running a PR campaign to convince everyone — incorrectly — that the Democrats are solely to blame for the government shutdown.

During a news conference on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the “Democrats have put us into this position.” Vice President JD Vance expressed a similar sentiment, telling reporters that “the Chuck Schumer-AOC wing of the Democratic Party shut down the government.” The administration has plastered that sentiment across a bunch of government websites, in what looks like a clear violation of government ethics rules.

The administration’s argument doesn’t make any sense considering how it has conducted itself over the last nine months.

But when you think about it, the administration’s argument doesn’t make any sense, considering how it has conducted itself over the last nine months. Donald Trump has been governing like an authoritarian: He promised to be a dictator on Day 1. He’s compared himself to America’s king and even the pope. The goal of this second term appears to be to assert complete control over every aspect of the federal government.