House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Donald Trump's Oval Office an "evidence-free" zone Thursday afternoon during her weekly press conference. Fresh off her meeting with the president about the border wall and omnibus spending bill, the soon-to-be speaker of the House had much to say about Trump, none of it positive.
"Does he want to have government closed forever?" Pelosi asked of Trump. "I know he doesn't believe in government, and I know he doesn't know that much about what's at risk if he shuts it down. But there is strong bipartisan support to keep government open and the only obstacle is the president of the United States."
Pelosi's Oval Office meeting with Trump and Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday ended in a big win for Democrats, with the president taking full responsibility for a potential government shutdown and saying on-camera that he would not blame the left if a spending bill is not passed. The president is demanding $5 billion in funding for his border wall, and said he would not settle for less.
"He's taking full responsibility for the Trump shutdown. He doesn't understand people need their paychecks," Pelosi said Thursday. "Maybe that's not the life he leads."
She reiterated Thursday that the president does not have the votes he needs to get the necessary funding for his wall, something she also pointed out to Trump on Tuesday. "They do not have the votes to pass the president's proposal for the wall. Nothing is going to change in that regard. I don't know why we don't just proceed to keep the government open, so people can be home for the holidays," she said.
Pelosi also addressed criticisms that the president once said Mexico would pay for the border wall and is now asking for the government to cough up $5 billion. Thursday morning, Trump tweeted that Mexico would still technically pay for the wall, through the additional money the U.S. will make from the not-yet-ratified United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement.
"I often stated, 'One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.'" Trump wrote. "This has never changed. Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly & anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!"
Pelosi challenged that notion Thursday. "What money?" she asked. "The money the businesses make? What money is he talking about that's going to pay for the wall? It just doesn't measure up."
The president might not understand how trade agreements work, she speculated. "First of all, he doesn't even have the trade agreement. Let's see the enforcement in the agreement. I think the Oval Office is an evidence-free zone. You've got to have facts, data and evidence-based truth to make an agreement on how you go forward," she said.
The president, she said, may be able to find some supporters of his trade deals, "but not anybody who actually knows about trade agreements."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Nicole Goodkind is a political reporter with a focus on Congress. She previously worked as a reporter for Yahoo Finance, ... Read more
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