SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Criticism of the president from conservative media helped kill a deal last month that could have averted the government shutdown in the first place. What's the reaction now that the government is open but without money for a new border wall? NPR's Don Gonyea tuned into conservative talk radio.
DON GONYEA, BYLINE: When President Trump stood in the Rose Garden yesterday to say the government would reopen while negotiations on border security resumed, conservative talk radio hosts were watching closely. Sean Hannity of Fox News hosts a national radio show, as well. His loyalty to Trump is unwavering.
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SEAN HANNITY: I know some of you say, well, he didn't get any money for the wall. He didn't get any money for the wall. No. He didn't. But he's going to.
GONYEA: Hannity says the president is demonstrating that he's reasonable, that he's giving Congress a chance to reach a deal Trump likes. But if they fail at that - and Hannity thinks they will...
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HANNITY: One of two things is going to happen on February 15th - that either the president will declare then a national emergency. Or the government's going to be shut down again.
GONYEA: But not all conservative pundits have been so quick to support the president on this. Ann Coulter unleashed a series of tweets, including one that says, quote, "good news for George Herbert Walker Bush. As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as president of the United States." Now back to the radio dial.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: The Brett Hollander Show.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: WBAL NewsRadio 1090. And now...
GONYEA: This is Baltimore station WBAL, where host Brett Hollander was critical of Ann Coulter for demanding that the president not give an inch to get the government reopened.
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BRETT HOLLANDER: I don't think it's helpful. I don't think she's right on most the things she says.
GONYEA: Then a caller named Tawanna (ph) said it's all part of the president's plan to get his canceled State of the Union address back on the schedule.
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TAWANNA: Maybe we can go ahead and plan, and he can still get his State of the Union through. Then he can come back and play his trump card - shut the government down or do the state of emergency. That's the way I look at it.
GONYEA: Now west to Omaha and station KFAB and midday host Chris Baker. He put it this way to his audience.
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CHRIS BAKER: Did the president cave? Or did he punt?
GONYEA: Callers gave different answers to that question. Baker himself said the president punted in an attempt to improve his field position in the debate. He continued with the football analogy.
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BAKER: But I've also got to say this. He had to punt because his offensive line, which would be Republicans, suck. They're horrible. Quote me on that.
GONYEA: And so we did. All of this, of course, is just a snapshot of some immediate reaction to yesterday's news. The president's base seems to be giving him room to maneuver - at least for the next three weeks. Don Gonyea, NPR News, Washington.