In a heated public argument on Tuesday, President Trump, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sparred over immigration, government funding and November’s election results.
The explosive meeting with Schumer, the Senate minority leader, and Pelosi came hours after Trump threatened Tuesday to have the military “build the remaining sections” of the wall if Congress doesn’t deliver the funding. Vice President Mike Pence was also in attendance.
As Trump began discussing the details of the negotiations, Pelosi said, “I don’t think you should have a debate in front of the press.” At another point, Schumer said: “Let’s debate in private.”
Trump and Schumer also exchanged zingers over recent midterm elections.
“Elections have consequences, Mr. President,” Schumer said.
“And that’s why the country is doing so well,” the president shot back.
Schumer jabbed Trump over boasting that Republicans kept control of the Senate.
“When a president brags that he’s won Indiana and North Dakota, he’s in real trouble,” Schumer said.
“We did!” Trump replied. “We did win.”
After the meeting, the Democrats said they won’t budge on border wall funding.
“This temper tantrum that he seems to throw will not get him his wall, and it’ll hurt a lot of people, because he will cause a shutdown,” Schumer told reporters outside the West Wing.
Congress last week temporarily averted a partial shutdown amid the funeral services for the late President George H.W. Bush, pushing the new deadline to Dec. 21. But border wall funding remains the sticking point as Trump and congressional leaders try to hammer out a government spending package. Trump wants $5 billion for the project, while Democrats are offering $1.3 billion for border security.
Earlier, Pelosi and Schumer put out a joint statement Monday arguing Trump and his party will own a government shutdown if they can’t strike a deal.
“Republicans still control the House, the Senate and the White House, and they have the power to keep government open,” they said. “Our country cannot afford a Trump Shutdown,” the Democrats said, adding that Trump “knows full well that his wall proposal does not have the votes to pass the House and Senate and should not be an obstacle to a bipartisan agreement.”
Trump said Friday that Congress should provide all the money he wants for the wall and called illegal immigration a “threat to the well-being of every American community.”
Source: Fox News
