Epic troll: Trump postpones Pelosi overseas trip with House delegation – at the last minute

Epic troll: Trump postpones Pelosi overseas trip with House delegation – at the last minute

On Wednesday, Nancy Pelosi suggested postponing Trump’s State of the Union address until the government shutdown is over. She emphasized that her concern was security for the event, but also pointed out that the timing seemed ill-considered with 800,000 federal workers furloughed without pay. LU has a good debate going about what that means and how to handle it.

On Thursday, Trump seemed to take Pelosi’s concerns to heart, and sent Pelosi a letter canceling the U.S. Air Force transportation for an overseas trip she was to start off on today.

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Trump didn’t specifically allude to security issues in his letter. But security is certainly implied with the travel itinerary including Afghanistan and Egypt. Diplomatic and other federal law enforcement security experts (e.g., FBI delegations in the embassies) are having to operate in an uncertain shutdown atmosphere, and a House delegation is a lot of work for them.

Trump did refer to the 800,000 furloughed federal workers:

In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate.

Trump points out that if Pelosi wants to pay her own way via commercial air, she is free to do so.

There isn’t a lot Pelosi can do to retaliate materially against Trump. The House, acting by itself, can’t affect federal funding on a short timeline. Pelosi and the House Democrats can probably find some way to harass and discourage the American people, but precision-targeting Trump would be harder.

Will the Senate stand with Pelosi and the House Democrats on this, or line up behind Trump? That remains to be seen. Senator Lindsey Graham has already indicated displeasure with the president’s move.

Trump’s troll achieved especially trollish heights by being pulled off at the last minute.

According to reporters on-scene, an Air Force bus loaded with members of the Congressional delegation was just leaving the U.S. Capitol building for Joint Base Andrews when the news came through that the departure was canceled for today.

The bus drove ignominiously around the block, returning to offload angry delegation members in the same spot.

Reportedly, phone calls were flying furiously between the Hill, the White House, Pentagon, and State Department.

Predictably, Trump has critics.

https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1085994399971115009

Granted, he had critics already, only moments before the Pelosi troll.

https://twitter.com/RoburPortcullis/status/1086010536897245184

LU Staff

LU Staff

Promoting and defending liberty, as defined by the nation’s founders, requires both facts and philosophical thought, transcending all elements of our culture, from partisan politics to social issues, the workings of government, and entertainment and off-duty interests. Liberty Unyielding is committed to bringing together voices that will fuel the flame of liberty, with a dialogue that is lively and informative.

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