In December, Congress must approve a new round of government spending despite the massive national debt that has continued to grow under President Trump. If the two parties cannot reach a deal, the government will once again shut down, putting an end to all unessential services until Congress reaches an agreement. For the past few weeks, President Trump has been set to meet with Democratic congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to discuss a budget plan that liberal members of Congress might be willing to vote for.
That changed on Tuesday, the day of the meeting, when President Trump posted this tweet:
Meeting with “Chuck and Nancy” today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2017
Schumer and Pelosi didn't care for Trump's words. They quickly pulled out of the meeting:
Given that the President doesn’t see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead.
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 28, 2017
Rather than going to the White House for a show meeting that won’t result in an agreement, we’ve asked @SenateMajLdr & @SpeakerRyan to meet this afternoon. Read my full statement w/ @SenSchumer here: https://t.co/v17WhoEJFU
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 28, 2017
They claimed a meeting with their Republican colleagues would be more fruitful:
We don’t have any time to waste in addressing the issues that confront us, so we’re going to continue to negotiate with Republican leaders who may be interested in reaching a bipartisan agreement.
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 28, 2017
If the President, who already said earlier this year that ‘our country needs a good shutdown,’ isn’t interested in addressing the difficult year end agenda, we’ll work with those Republicans who are, as we did in April.
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 28, 2017
By cancelling, they were sending a clear message to President Trump:
We look forward to continuing to work in good faith, as we have been for the last month, with our Republican colleagues in Congress to do just that.
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 28, 2017
Of course, both sides are trying to claim the other is at fault:
.@PressSec disappointed Dems pulled out of WH mtg, says invitation stands, urges them to ‘stop the political grandstanding, show up and get to work.’ Dems backed out of bipartisan meeting after Trump’s morning tweet.
— darlene superville (@dsupervilleap) November 28, 2017
WH: "The President’s invitation to the Democrat leaders still stands and he encourages them to put aside their pettiness."
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 28, 2017
Chuck and Nancy effectively call potus irrelevant https://t.co/NPChX3skYZ
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 28, 2017
For Politico analysts like Jake Sherman, this is a fascinating political scenario:
FEW POINTS ON THIS: This is a DIRECT result of Trump tweeting about Democrats. He said "Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!"
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 28, 2017
Dems have to contend with their own internal politics here. They want a DACA deal. And Trump saying this puts them in a tough spot
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 28, 2017
It's too early to tell who will come out on top...
Furthermore, Republicans control the House, Senate and presidency. Easy for the Dems to say, “hey, you have the keys. drive"
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 28, 2017
TRUTH BOMB — a negotiation between Pelosi, Schumer, Ryan and McConnell could very well be more productive than meeting with the president.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 28, 2017
Only one thing is certain: President Trump's Twitter continues to make an impact.
"The media shouldn't cover the president's Twitter. It's just a distraction."
— Allison Carter (@AllisonLCarter) November 28, 2017
Right. OK. https://t.co/SNtUh6tihR