On Thursday, Donald Trump attempted to strike back at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she disinvited him from giving the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress later this month. In a statement tweeted by Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the President told Rep. Pelosi that her upcoming trip to Brussels [Belgium], Egypt, and Afghanistan had been “postponed” until after the government shutdown.
The statement reads in part:
Due to the shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed. We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the Shutdown is over. 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. I also feel that, during this period, it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the Shutdown. Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative.”
President @realDonaldTrump’s letter to @SpeakerPelosi concerning her upcoming travel pic.twitter.com/TtBCvwp080
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 17, 2019
Seeing this honestly almost made me spit my coffee all over my keyboard because it, of course, does not work that way. The House of Representatives controls spending, not the President. That includes travel — especially travel that has already been budgeted. Trump could no more “ground” Nancy Pelosi than he could send her to the moon.
Unfortunately, we are living through a presidency in which the unhinged leader of the United States has zero concept of how literally almost anything works in government, truly believing that he can simply decree things that he believes should be true and they will somehow become true.
But this is a perfect example of the difference between the Speaker and the President: In her letter, she was kind enough to make it sound like she was offering to “let” him reschedule the State of the Union address, when in fact she controls whether he gives it to a joint session of Congress or not. Trump, in his letter, tried to “tell” Pelosi what was going to happen — even though he has no control over it whatsoever.
You’d think someone might have told him this before he made such an ass of himself.
Featured image via screen capture
