As the country hurtles toward an increasingly likely federal government shutdown on Oct. 1, it’s easy to think that this is all just Washington politics, partisan infighting with little bearing on real life. After all, both ex-President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have chimed in, adding to the sense that it’s part of the theatrics.

Trump said on his social-media platform Wednesday night that a shutdown is an opportunity to “defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots.” And DeSantis also seems to want a shutdown.

Both men have the same self-serving goal, of course — to boost their chances to win the Republican nomination for president. Trump, as is so often the case, is divorced from reality; federal prosecutions are unaffected by government shutdowns. DeSantis, meanwhile, has fallen so far in the polls that his encouragement to those who would shut down the government is worth less and less.

And neither candidates’ posturing should distract us from the more important point: Trump and DeSantis are actively rooting for something that will harm a lot of regular people. They’ll happily lead us into the abyss if it helps them claw for power.

A shutdown is a real hardship. If the federal government really does grind to a halt, the impacts will start small but build over time.

Federal employees won’t be paid, yet essential workers like those in federal prisons will have to work anyway — without being paid. Agencies like the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection would have their funding frozen, but many agents would likely be considered essential workers, working without pay.

Furloughed workers receive their pay, eventually. That’s not much help if your mortgage is due now. During the 2019 shutdown — under then-President Trump — TSA agents called out sick in large numbers, causing travel delays and massive lines at security checkpoints.

This is all happening because the hard-right Freedom Caucus wants to push for things like funding for the wall on the southern border. It’s a power flex. It hurts regular people and federal workers. It causes inconvenience and headaches.