President Donald Trump folded like a cheap lawn chair after Nancy Pelosi pulled the ultimate power play in their dispute over the location of his State of the Union Address.
President Trump agreed to postpone his address after Pelosi drafted a letter informing him she would not allow him to hold his SOTU address in the House Chamber. Pelosi, 79, is the Speaker of the House.
In her letter Pelosi asked President Trump to reschedule his address until after the partial government shutdown ends.
READ ALSO: Capitol Hill Braces for Full Gov’t Shutdown
On Wednesday, Trump declined to give his State of the Union Address from the Oval Office, saying the historic House Chamber was an “incomparable venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber.”
“As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an…. alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a “great” State of the Union Address in the near future!”
Pelosi won the power struggle after Trump embarrassed and humiliated her as she and other Democratic leaders were on a bus headed to the airport for a fun-filled 7-day excursion overseas.
In a letter to Pelosi, Trump informed her that the CODEL was canceled, and that her time (and the taxpayers’ money) would be better spent in Washington, D.C. negotiating the end of the government shutdown with him.
The shutdown is now in its 5th week – the longest government shutdown in US history. 800,000 federal workers are furloughed without pay.
There appears to be no end in sight for the shutdown, as both sides refuse to surrender to the other side’s demands.
As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
….alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a “great” State of the Union Address in the near future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
