Pelosi urges Trump, Republicans to return to the negotiation table and help Americans hurting from coronavirus economic turmoil
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted on Wednesday that the Trump administration should come back to the negotiation table to bring help to the millions of Americans who are hurting because of the coronavirus economic turmoil.
But Pelosi said she would not risk her safety by going near the White House where President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and dozens of staff are battling the deadly coronavirus, saying “it’s one of the most dangerous places in the country,” at the moment.
“I’m not going anywhere near the White House, it’s one of the most dangerous places in the country,” Pelosi told ABC News’ The View when asked whether she would go to the White House to speak directly with Trump about the stimulus bill the House passed last week but the President killed on Tuesday night before attempting to reverse himself.
Trump tweeted on Tuesday that he had instructed his “representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win.”
“I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Pelosi said that tweet was an insult to the constitution of the United States.
“Trump insulted the constitution of the United States,” Pelosi said, adding that negotiating a stimulus package is not a “personal thing” where “Trump can send checks to the American people with his name on it.”
Pelosi said she did not understand why the Republicans and Trump do not want “to put food on table, rent in the pockets of the American people, crush the virus, support our heroes, and the rest.”
She said the $2.2 billion stimulus package bill passed by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives last week is “scientifically, institutionally, academically documented to meet the needs of the American people.”
She also blamed those enable Trump to allow the negotiations to stall.
“There are enablers around the President who really should know better, and Republicans in Congress have enabled so much of this to happen without saying we’re here to address the needs of the American people: crush the virus, honor our heroes, put money in the pockets of the American people, support our election, honor the census, including safety in the work place,” she said.
Following the backlash, President Trump attempted to revert himself on Tuesday night, urging Congress to pass standalone bills on direct payments and assistance to airlines and small businesses.
The measures were already included in the large piece of legislation that was being negotiated between the White House and the Democrats in the House of Representatives.
“The House & Senate should IMMEDIATELY Approve 25 Billion Dollars for Airline Payroll Support, & 135 Billion Dollars for Paycheck Protection Program for Small Business,” President wrote on Twitter, adding he would “sign now.”
In a follow up tweet, less than an hour later, President Trump said he was ready to sign another piece of legislation to provide $1,200 direct payments for Americans.
“If I am sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?” he tweeted, tagging the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows; House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
With flip flops, Pelosi told The View she did not know whether the steroids President Trump is taking to coronavirus are having an impact on his thinking.
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.
