PRESIDENT TRUMP BLOWS UP IN OVAL OFFICE, ALL ABOUT BORDER WALL FUNDING

…Trump, Pelosi and Schumer sparring over government shutdown in the Oval Office meeting

Pelosi and Schumer witness the President’s blow up about US funding of Trump’s “Wall”

Our self-proclaimed greatest negotiator president really blew it when he met in the Oval Office with House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader. Charles Schumer.  In a meeting that should never have been left open to cameras and the press, Trump lost his temper and stated that if he didn’t get the $5 billion dollars for the unnecessary “Border Wall”, he would shut down the government before Christmas.

In the meeting, where the VP attended but looked as if he were a mannikin sitting next to the president.  But instead of negotiating and coming to a bi-partisan decision on the money for border security, Trump lost it.  He then said he would be “proud for shutting down the government, and would take the responsibility for it, if it was for keeping terrorist and drug dealers out of the country.”

Of course, Trump continues to ignore the fact that most illegals and illegal drugs, are smuggled across the border through legal ports-of-entry.  A “Border Wall” would not keep those from coming into the country.

It was leaked out of that sieve of the White House staff that after the meeting, Trump went into another room next to the Oval Office and threw a hand full of papers everywhere while storming out of the room.  It was obvious that Pelosi and Schumer’s proposal for $1.6 billion for “Border Security,” would not give him, and his always lied-to supporters, enough billions to build his “Wall”.

After the meeting, Pelosi made a comment that by not getting the “Wall”, it had become a “manhood thing for the president”.  In other words, like a small child, by not giving him what he wanted, the president had a tantrum.  His not getting his money was a direct shot at the president’s “manhood”. 

In addition to all this hoopla, Trump lied again when he said that there had already been built, a large section of this infamous Border Wall. 

This is a patently false statement!  All that has been built is more fencing and concertina wire added to sections of the “border fence”.  In fact, the border patrol has only spent 6% of the $1.6 billion that was approved for US border security last year.

Trump kept saying that he had the votes in the House to pass the $5 billion bill, but Pelosi, who is the expert at House vote counting, said he didn’t have the votes.  If Trump had been correct, and he had the votes, the Speaker would have already brought up the bill, which he hasn’t.  In fact, a number of Texas Republicans in the House have already said that most Texans don’t want a border wall, and these representatives wouldn’t vote for it

When Trump made a negative comment about Pelosi having to work at nailing down her future House Speakership, Pelosi retorted: “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.”

These leaders also argued about the meaning of the midterm election results.  As Pelosi and Schumer pointed to Democrats’ resounding win in the House, Trump said: “Excuse me did we win the Senate? We won the Senate.”

Schumer remarked in response: “When the president brags that he won [the Senate by] North Dakota and Indiana, he’s in real trouble,” 

Of course, that just made Trump's face turn red.

President Trump, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer continued to argue over Trump’s demand that taxpayers must pay for a wall along the Mexico border or he will shut down part of the government.  (BTW: Whatever happened to Trump’s promise that Mexico would be paying for the Wall...?)

Pelosi repeatedly asked the president to take this Oval Office encounter off-camera, but it continued for nearly 20 heated minutes before Trump ejected the media.

“We came in here in good faith, and we are entering into this kind of a discussion in the public view,” Pelosi said during the meeting’s public portion.

Pelosi and Schumer both implored Trump to not shut down the government. Trump initially said he did not want a shutdown either, but in the end, he announced that he did.

There it was, a full on-camera shouting match between Trump, Pelosi and Schumer as Pence just sat there like a fossilized mummy.

It was the first encounter among the three leaders in more than a year, and it offered a taste of Washington politics for next year when the Democrats take control of the House. 

The capital is in for a rough ride, especially because the House committees that are responsible for keeping a check on the executive branch, they will be getting into their own version of the Russia investigation.

If there is no agreement by the end of this week, the funding will run out for the Homeland Security Department and other agencies including the Justice, Interior and Agriculture departments.  Those agencies, making up about 25% of the whole federal government.  These departments are already operating on a short-term spending bill Congress passed two weeks ago to move the shutdown deadline by two weeks.  However, the rest of the federal government, including the Pentagon, has already been funded through the 2019 budget year.

Any shutdown would be limited in scope, but there are hundreds of thousands of federal workers employed by these agencies.  That are all at risk of shutting down, and they could be furloughed without pay in the middle of the holiday season.  But at least they will be paid that income after the government opens up again.  That's just another reason why a government shutdown is so costly.  Oh, and with the shutdown, it could delay the Social Security checks being mailed out.

Trump began the day after, by posting a series of tweets threatening that if Democrats do not provide enough votes to build the wall, “the Military will build the remaining sections.” He did not however, elaborate on how that would be funded.

We must all remember that one of the reasons that Trump won in 2016 is that he had long promised that Mexico would pay for the wall.  However, Mexico refuses to pay for a wall so Trump is now saying that US taxpayers should foot the bill.

The “Real News” (not fake news) stations have been playing the dozens of clips from Trump’s many campaign rallies where he repeatedly asked the audience “Who’s going to pay for the Wall?” and the audience would always respond by yelling: “MEXICO!!!”

Now we know this is why Trump keeps saying he will shut-down the US government if he doesn’t get his “Wall”.  He promised a "Wall" to his supporters, regardless of who pays for it!

Once again, US taxpayers are paying for Trump's mistakes.

Copyright G. Ater 2018