President Donald Trump has had a turbulent relationship with Democratic figureheads House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, but they had recently come together to work on an infrastructure deal. Now, any bipartisan effort between the parties seems to have broken down on Wednesday, when Trump unloaded on Pelosi in an explosive public feud.
Their altercation comes after a Wednesday meeting in the White House, where Trump decided he would not work with Democrats while they’re investigating him. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) was present for the meeting, describing it as “high drama in the Cabinet room.” After Trump made those attending the meeting wait for him, he complained about their investigations into him and stormed out, all of which transpired within minutes.
Speaking of the meeting, Pelosi was critical of Trump’s conduct. “It wasn’t really respectful of the Congress and the White House working together,” she said at a news conference later in the day. “He just took a pass. I pray for the president of the United States, and I pray for the United States of America.” Speaking with her fellow Democrats in private, Pelosi tweeted her belief Trump “is engaged in a cover-up,” a claim that would later infuriate him.
Durbin echoed the sentiment, saying, “I don’t know where this leaves us as a nation. We have so many things that have to be done for this country and they can’t be done unless we work together. If the president walks out of the meeting, it’s a setback for the country’s priorities.” Continuing, Durbin explained how neither he nor anyone in his party could manage to get a word in. Schumer believes Trump’s theatrics were a “planned” stunt, adding, “To watch what happened at the White House would make your jaw drop.”
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Trump also spoke with reporters on Tuesday, venting his frustrations with Democrats. “I don’t do cover-ups,” Trump said in response to Pelosi’s cover-up comment. Trump did, however, agree with Democrats insofar in that the meeting went poorly, explaining he told them he would refuse to cooperate with them while they’re investigating him. “I walked into the room and I told Sen. Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, ‘I want to do infrastructure. I want to do it more than you want to do it. I’d be really good at that. That is what I do. But you know what, you can’t do it under these circumstances. So get these phony investigations over with.'”
Trump took to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon to offer his take on the political divide. According to him, Democratic leadership is incapable of comprehending the “great promise” of the United States, opting instead to “continue the Witch Hunt” that has been “a tremendous waste of time and energy.” Trump added how they cannot “investigate and legislate simultaneously” and are therefore accomplishing little, whereas Trump and his administration are “achieving things that have never been done before,” citing a strong economy.
