After President Donald Trump walked out of a contentious meeting with Congressional Democrats to discuss ways to end the government shutdown, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) couldn’t resist taking a good swipe at the president, Mediaite reports.
“Federal workers will not be receiving their paychecks and what that means in their lives is tragic in terms of their credit rating, paying their mortgage, paying their rent, paying their car payment, paying their children’s tuition and the rest,” Pelosi told reporters Wednesday.
She added that Trump suggested federal workers could resort to begging if necessary:
“The president seems to be insensitive to that. He thinks maybe they could ask their father for more money, but they can’t.”
Pelosi said Democrats want something that’s more high-tech when it comes to border security — not something that’s little more than a campaign slogan, Raw Story reported.
House Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Trump threw a temper tantrum and then stormed out.
And Trump took his bad behavior to Twitter”
“Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!”
Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2019
Schumer blasted Trump’s behavior, CNN reports.
“Unfortunately, the president just got up and walked out,” Schumer said. “He asked Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi, ‘Will you agree to my wall?’ She said ‘no.’ And he just got up and said ‘Then we have nothing to discuss,’ and he just walked out. Again, we saw a temper tantrum because he couldn’t get his way, and he just walked out of the meeting.”
The meeting began on a friendly note, with the president handing out candy bars. Then he told congressional leaders they would find a letter at each of their chairs. The letter, from the Office of Management and Budget, was a budget request that delineated the Trump administration’s shutdown priorities.
Then White House officials wanted to know where the Democrats stood on the issue.
Pelosi told Trump she was concerned about ports of entry, and he agreed with her. Money had been allotted in the priority list for strengthening ports of entry, he said. Then Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, also participating in the meeting, jumped in to add that even if drug smuggling was eliminated at the ports, smugglers would still find other ways to get in, and that’s why the border wall is important. That sparked an argument between Pelosi and Trump.
Schumer interjected and stressed that the government should be reopened and border security negotiations should begin after that:
“Why won’t you open the government and stop hurting people?” he asked.
“Because you won’t give me what I want,” Trump said abruptly.
That’s when he asked Democrats if they would be willing to put up the wall if he reopened parts of the government. Pelosi declined and then he stormed out.
You can hear what Nancy Pelosi, who’s clearly frustrated, has to say in the video below.
Featured image by Contemptor via YouTube video
