The two New Yorkers early on feigned a great mutual understanding and sent signals that they could do business. They had earlier held a “cheeseburger summit,” and they dined on Chinese spiced beef, but with little to show for it. On Tuesday, Mr. Schumer adopted a more confrontational posture. When the president asked Mr. Schumer if he wanted to speak, the senator replied, “Yes, we have a lot of disagreements here. The Washington Post today gave you a whole lot of Pinocchiosbecause they say you have constantly misstated how much of the wall is built.” That prompted an angry retort from Mr. Trump, saying the last time the government shut down, “you got killed.”
[Actually, GOP-led shut-downs have always hurt the GOP – and the economy.]
After the meeting and in front of reporters, Mr. Schumer chided Mr. Trump for his “temper tantrum.”
‘Mansplain’ to Pelosi at your peril.
Mr. Trump said that “Nancy is in a situation where it is not easy for her to talk right now,” concluding a response to a reporter with a demand for border security.
Ms. Pelosi’s riposte? “Mr. President, please don’t characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting as a leader of the House Democrats who just won a big victory.”
She then adopted the pose of fact checker, challenging index cards that Mr. Trump had waved around: “What the president is representing in terms of his cards over there are not factual. We have to have an evidence-based conversation about what does work and what money has been spent and how effective it is.”
Trump would own a shutdown.
“The bottom line is simple,” Mr. Schumer told reporters after the meeting. “The president made clear that he wants a shutdown.” He then repeated Ms. Pelosi’s notion that it would be a “Trump shutdown.” Being the first to frame a debate is a studied art in Washington. Mr. Trump seemed to accept the responsibility. “If we don’t have border security, we will shut down the government,” he said.
Sebastion Cooper 