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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP said “bye-bye” and stormed out of negotiations yesterday on funding a US-Mexico border wall when Democratic opponents refused to agree to the project.
“A total waste of time,” Trump tweeted about his White House meeting with top Democratic congressional leaders. “I said bye-bye, nothing else works!”
Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, told journalists Trump “sort of slammed the table”, then “got up and walked out”.
“Again, we saw a temper tantrum because he couldn’t get his way,” Schumer said.
Although the two sides agreed that the meeting ended abruptly, they argued over who was to blame.
According to supporters of Trump at the meeting, the president asked Democratic leaders whether they would agree to fund his wall project in exchange for him ending a painful shutdown of swathes of government, which he has instigated in retaliation for the standoff.
The US government enters into shutdown when it can’t finalise how it will fund federal services going forward. Democrats refused to back funding for Trump’s border wall, and his refusal to compromise led to the shutdown.
In practical terms, it means that hundreds of thousands of civil servants are going without pay while certain services are forced to close down. The shutdown came into effect just before Christmas.
During the meeting, Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, “raised her hand and said no, not at all”, said Kevin McCarthy, the senior Republican in the House, who was also present.
“We heard once again that Democratic leaders are unwilling to even negotiate,” Vice President Mike Pence said.
The vice president insisted that Trump came in good faith.
“The president walked into the room and passed out candy,” Pence said. “I don’t recall him ever raising his voice or slamming his hand.”
Shutdown
Trump wants $5.7 billion to fund a wall he says is needed to keep out dangerous illegal immigrants, drug dealers and people smugglers from Mexico.
Democrats say the wall would have little impact on real border problems and that Trump’s tough approach has instead created a humanitarian crisis among vulnerable, unthreatening migrants.
Trump’s main lever to exert pressure on Congress has been to refuse signing spending bills that cover large areas of government. As a result, some 800,000 federal employees and many more contractors have now been without pay for almost three weeks.
Democrats insist they will not lift their opposition to the wall project, and believe Americans will tire of the shutdown chaos and blame Trump.
But Trump indicated Wednesday on a visit to Republican allies in Congress that he will continue to play hardball.
“Whatever it takes,” he told journalists, when asked how long the shutdown could continue.
Earlier at the White House, Trump told journalists that if he cannot get his way, he could declare a national emergency – a measure that allows him to bypass Congress and take the wall funds he needs from the military.
“I think we might work a deal, and if we don’t, we might go that route,” he said, insisting he has the “absolute right” to declare an emergency, despite warnings in Congress that this could be seen as serious presidential overreach.
‘American blood’ speech
Trump’s triumphant 2016 campaign relied heavily on his “build the wall” slogan and since then, he has pushed the idea that the United States is being overwhelmed by dangerous migrants who enter the country illegally.
But with Democrats winning control of the House in November midterm elections, Trump’s wall push has come up against a wall of its own.
Speaking at a swearing-in ceremony for members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus later yesterday, Schumer insisted:
The symbol of America should continue to be the statue of Liberty and not a 30-foot wall.”
And Pelosi said finding a solution for “Dreamers” – undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children – would be a “high priority”. Trump in 2017 ended the Obama-era programme protecting them from deportation.
This week, an increasingly frustrated president is trying to seize the initiative.
Today, he will fly to the southern border that he described in a prime-time television speech Tuesday as an open door to murderers and other criminals.
“How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job?” Trump said.
“For those who refuse to compromise in the name of border security, I would ask to imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken,” he said in the 9-minute speech.
Trump claimed yesterday that his address had been a success.
But Schumer scoffed: “I don’t think he persuaded a soul with his talk last night. It was same old same old – mistruths, divisiveness. Didn’t have the effect he had hoped.”
Washington is now waiting for either side to make a move – and to see whether Trump will dare invoke emergency powers.
“Neither side feel they can cave and not pay a terrible political price,” Republican Senator Marco Rubio said on Fox News.
“Unfortunately, two things caught in the middle are securing our borders, and the men and women in federal government,” he added.
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Great negotiation skills by a so called world leader.
@Tony Gordon: T’was those same great negotiation skills that got the pharmacy industry to lower their prices after he met up with them 2 years ago.Oh,wait…
@Francis Mc Carthy: yep. Pharma prices to increase in January https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drugpricing-exclusive/exclusive-big-pharma-returning-to-u-s-price-hikes-in-january-after-pause-idUSKCN1OJ01E
@Francis Mc Carthy: Nothing of the sort. It was the public outcry. Then he goes and screws his red necks with messing about with health care.
@Francis Mc Carthy: prices lowered? Who are you kidding? Someone just died in the US because they couldn’t afford their insulin.
@Francis Mc Carthy: sorry missed the sarcasm the first time…
What a very strange system of government the Americans have. One man can shut down services and affect peoples livelihoods over a wall. Very strange indeed.
I like the system
@Toby Fish: Troll?
@Toby Fish: you could always back your bags. Go live in Russia
@Darren McCormack: technically he can’t. Republicans are just cowards. All 100 Senators agreed to a deal funding the government over a month ago. Trump says he will veto that deal but guess what? A veto can be overturned by a 2/3 majority in the House and Senate. Both of whom could easily do this if they wanted. Long story short, Pelosi will now start passing individual bills for individual federal entities to get back to work and either get them to the Senate and passed or make McConnell refuse to reopen the government and adding another name to keep Don company in the title of this shutdown.
@Picture This:or America
@Darren McCormack: yes, it is a troll, best ignore it
@Darren McCormack: There’s a government on the island of Ireland that’s been closed for two years, glass houses and all that…
@James Wallace: I can’t like the American president without being a troll? You have a warped mind
@Paul Darby: Power gets transferred to Westminster and public services continue. Totally different, bud.
No one has ever sat down in front of him and said No until now and he can’t handle it.
Crazy can be medicated, ignorance can be educated, but there ain’t no cure for stupid.
@Pius Flynn: isn’t a not, ain’t no
Incredible to think worlds greatest power doesn’t understand the concept of a Ladder.
@iohanx: or a tunnel. Or the ocean. Or a plane. Cartels have even used a makeshift catapult on the back up a pickup to launch drugs over the border
@iohanx: Or a tunnel.
He’s an utter embarrassment at this stage.
This is typical behaviour for a bully who is used to getting his own way. Usually if you disagree with him you get fired, but he can’t fire Democrats.
Leave him call his so called emergency, it’ll result in him taking over 5billion out of the military budget which they will be pissed at, which in turn will make republicans pissed at him.
Oh and it’ll also fail horribly as both Democrats and republicans will take cases to court to stop him.
Even republicans will want him out of the job once they see he’s over stepped his mark.
@Barry Somers: oh I’d say the Republicans already want him gone.
@Barry Somers: And it was never an emergency the previous 2 years when they had control. The fool.
@Paul Furey: They didn’t have a two thirds majority in the senate. But I won’t call you a fool.
@Shane Dignam: they still don’t so offer that as a reason for the timing is foolish
@Paul Furey: By calling for the funding now, Trump can blame the Democrats for not getting it.
@Gerard McDermott: he always could. Democrats had massive gains in the midterms and they all ran on opposing the wall.
USA is arguing over a useless wall while it abandons its friends
@trebloc01: Trump hates democracy, he shuns democratically elected leaders and admirers dictators like Kim Jong-Un.
Trump is an embarrassment to his country and a danger to the world
@Dotty He shouldn’t have made peace with rocket Man. The continuous nuclear testing and threats were much better
@Dotty Dunleary: Would you like to show me some examples of genuine democracy in the West please? And how is Trump any different than Obama, or May, Macron, Merkel (3 M’s?), or any other Western head of state that feel they can invade a sovereign nation to achieve its own agenda?
I’m all for calling out fools, tyrants and despots, but let us be consistent and unbiased, lest we lose credibility.
@Toby Fish: the tests didnt stop, Trumps summit with N K was a failure, but he still claims it was a success
@James Wallace: when was the last one? Do you know something everyone else doesn’t?
The GOP controlled both the Senate and congress for the first two years of his presidency, so why didn’t he try to obtain the funds then? Why wait until he had lost control of the house?
@Paul Quinlan: because his election promise was that Mexico would pay for it. He got no traction there so no he is looking inward to the American tax payer to fund his vanity project.
@Paul Quinlan: so he can blame someone else for his failure
He passed out candy… I don’t know if that’s better or worse than walking off in a strop
@thomas patrick: what’s worse again is Pence using the candy as proof that Trump came in good faith. “No, we won’t find your wall” “But I brought candy, surely tha…” “NO” “But, but, but, but the candy”
The democrats are as much to blame. They would rather increase foreign aid to other countries rather than protect own border. Takes two to tango.
@Jack Simpson: There’s only one boss. The buck stops with the boss.
@Jack Simpson: There was over 303,000 border apprehensions in 2017 alone,it’s already well protected.
The Democrats offered plenty of money to the ‘great negotiator’ early last year,& the ‘great negotiator’ only went and turned it down (twice) .So don’t go blaming the Democrats for that guys ‘yuge’ failures.
@Jack Simpson: The “two to tango” argument has already been ripped to shreds. Keep up (and Google “false equivalency”).
@Jack Simpson: Do you think you’re convincing anyone with that nonsense?
The Budget was passed 100-0. Trump refused to sign it because Fox news called him names.
The only reason it’s not getting voted on again in the Senate is because the same people that voted for it the first time know it’ll annoy Tango Palpatine and he’ll again refuse to sign.
Mitch McConnell says that he won’t bring to the Senate any shutdown resolution (that Congress passes) that the president isn’t committed to sign. Basically he is allowing Tango Palpatine to hold the country to ransom for a ridiculous wall. E-Verify would have been a better hill to die on if he REALLY cared about immigration!
@Francis Mc Carthy: Huge
@Juan Fangio: So that removes democrats from any responsibility? The president is not a dictator. He requires support from democrats on this issue. Border security was one of the reasons why he was elected. Dems appear to be engaging in political theatrics like with Russiagate.
@Francis Mc Carthy: How many potential border apprehensions were missed due to inadequate security? Don’t border guards support Trump on this? I’d believe them over Francis McCarthy any day.
@Kem Trayle: How has it?
@Jack Simpson: You say the president is not a dictator, I think someone needs to explain this to him. Border security was one of the issues that got him elected, another was his great experience in business, you probably know he “wrote” a book, “The art of the Deal”, what a joke, he was going to make great deals for America around the world. He can’t even do a deal with his own government, storming out of meetings like a spoiled child.
@Jack Simpson: Have you got any idea on how many people have got in to the US due to inadequate security ? Maybe you should e-mail the border security guards and ask them what they believe the numbers to be ?
ps; I don’t care if you believe them over me.xxxoooxxx
@Shane Dignam: that’s what she says.
@Francis Mc Carthy: When she said “huge knob” last night, I don’t think she meant what you think.
@Shane Dignam: your hearing is bad.Your eyesight is worse :p
It’s my way or no way
The US really is a failed state at this stage.
Finally a leader we can trust. A man of integrity. #MAGA
@michael smith: Trust to shut the nation down.
@michael smith: Why are Americans targeting Irish websites now???
And yet he’ll get re-elected USAUSA
He’s backed himself into a corner on this-His primaries campaign only really took off when he started banging in about the wall (and lock her up, another failed promise).
He’s a man who has used to getting his own way all the time, so expect the mother of all tantrums and deflection in the next few weeks.
Dude is obsessed with walls!!
It’s funny how an event can be perceived in different ways and how you see it depends on your preconceived notions. Was he playing hardball or throwing his toys out of the pram? Maybe it depends on the final outcome. But it seems like a silly game to play.
Samalia pirates can board a moving tanker in open water the size of multistory car park with rope and bamboo and this fool thinks nobody can scale a wall.
Trump is a developer, I wonder who gets the contract to build this wall he is so desperate to get built
@Ciarán Ó Dubhda: If you think the Wall is suspect you should look at his Infrastructure plan…. all private companies getting huge tax breaks and they would then own what they build.
“How much more American blood must be shed”
Is he for real.i don’t have any figures to back this up but I’m pretty confident that more Americans are killed by Americans using guns in the USA than immigrants crossing the border.sort your gun problem out first before you build any stupid wall.
@Tony Hanratty: Illegal immigrants should not be in the country in the first place. That’s what makes crime by this demographic so hard to swallow.
This wall idea is nonsense and simply a campaign pledge that Trump wants to tick off but illegal immigration and the drugs/crime that come with it has to be tackled.
Whataboutery regarding America’s gun culture won’t make this separate issue go away.
Obama, Biden, Clinton, Pelosi are all on record calling for stronger border controls/barriers until Trump came to power. Then they suddenly change their tune.
Partisan politics is destroying America and Trump is not solely to blame for this.
@Tony Hanratty: You really should’ve stopped after “i don’t have any figures to back this up”
The Art of the Deal. Lol
So now he’s holding 800,000 employees hostage and he wants to negotiate?
Right..
Time for yellow vests
Headline is completely incorrect according to the majority of the meeting.
It’s funny how it’s the democrats refusal to work with trump on anything that he proposes that caused the shutdown, and now their hope is that people will blame trump out of impatience… but no it’s all trumps fault. Don’t be sheep, do your own research.
He’s like a child!
Sick of hearing about this fool everyday.. YAWN..
Trump claimed that he is some kind of world class deal maker and negotiator ..except now when it comes down to it he is being exposed for the fraudster that he really is ..the guy is an absolute charlatan..he has no skill in solving problems rather he just creates them
He was elected on a campaign promise to build this wall, the new trade deal with Mexico pays for the wall, all these democrats opposing him are on camera saying they need to build a wall a few years ago, 100s of miles of wall was built during Obama administration. He is right to walk out, he already told them there’s no deal without the wall, border security want the wall. Ye haven’t a clue.
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