Come on. He had agreed with the majority before he changed his mind. Of course he knew how unpopular his shift would be. I hope he isn't forced out. I think Trump would welcome and perform better in a situation of more conflict. Right or wrong, you do know how good Trump is at blaming Democrats for any lousy situation. He would have more believing the shutdown was Dems fault than not. And he and Musk would be jangling the key to the government a shutdown would have given them. Laughing all the way to their party.
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”