Donald Trump’s negotiating session with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer spiraled wildly out of control on today, with the politicians viciously tearing into the president in plain view of reporters.
Pelosi informed him that his border wall wouldn’t pass in the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a majority of seats, if it came for a vote.
“The fact is you do not have the votes in the House,” she told him pointedly.
Trump angrily told the expected speaker of the House that funding for his wall would pass in “two seconds” in the lower chamber, only it doesn’t matter because it won’t reach the 60-vote threshold in the Senate without Democratic support.
“Nancy, I do. We need border security,” he retorted as the televised meeting devolved into utter chaos.
Schumer brought up Trump’s “Pinocchio” score in the Washington Post, telling Trump that he said at least 20 times that he would use a government shut down as a negotiating tool.
“We do not want to shut down the government,” Schumer told him.
The Democratic leader insisted that Trump would be willing to force the lights off “cause you can’t get your way.”
“You just say my way or you shut down the government,” Schumer exploded.
Trump countered that Pelosi couldn’t negotiate because around 20 Democrats are threatening not to support her bid for Speaker.
“Nancy’s in a situation where it’s not easy for her to talk right now, and I understand, and I fully understand that,” said the president.
“Mr. President, please don’t characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting as the leader of the House Democrats, who just won a big victory,” replied Pelosi.
“Elections have consequences, Mr. President,” Schumer quickly added, invoking former President Barack Obama’s infamous retort as the yelling match continued.
Republicans lost the House of Representatives during the 2018 election.
Pelosi is expected to win the gavel in the opening days of the next legislative session.
For twenty minutes, she and Schumer sparred with Trump on camera, emphasizing their long-stated position that he cannot have his border wall funding.
Furious, the president said that he would shut down the government if they don’t give it to him.
“You want to put that on me I’ll take it,” he rebutted as Schumer told him that the last government closure was his fault, too.
Vice President Mike Pence was in the meeting, but remained silent the entire time.
Pelosi and Schumer addressed reporters on the north lawn of the White House just minutes after the Oval Office blowup.
They urged Trump to accept an offer of moving six spending bills but funding homeland security under current limits to avoid a blow-up over the border wall.
“He says ‘We can pass it in the House, right now,’ said Pelosi. “He doesn’t have the votes in the House, to pass whatever his agenda is with that wall in it,” she said.
Her counterpart, Schumer, is already calling it “this Trump shutdown,” after the president said he wouldn’t blame Democrats if it happens during an angry exchange where both sides talked past each other.
Earlier today, Trump made a meandering plea for border wall funding in five tweets, touting his administration’s efforts to deter illegal border crossings, praising Border Patrol officers and the military for doing a “FANTASTIC job” and claiming, “Our Southern Border is now Secure and will remain that way.”
Yet Trump argued that the “Great Wall” he repeatedly promised on the campaign trail would be “a far easier & less expensive solution,” and he accused Democrats of resisting his plans “for strictly political reasons.”
Trump also threatened that if Democrats don’t provide enough votes to build the wall, “the Military will build the remaining sections.” He did not elaborate on how that would be funded.