SOTU being delayed indefinitely?

[Bitek]

I admit I'm one of those guys that wants new/fresh/young leadership in Washington.

But watching Pelosi run circles around these idiots is really fun.

Almost painful to watch. Almost.

116th HOR vs Trump admin in a nutshell.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Won't Trump just ask the networks for another prime-time address instead? Seems like the media networks will give him whatever he wants.

The problem is that the networks are really about entertainment, we removed any expectation of integrity in our news decades ago. All they really care about is ratings which push advertisement, and if there is anything Trump is good at it is being entertaining. Love him or hate him, he puts on a show. It is reality TV politics, be outrageous, be over the top, and get the views.

No news outlet is willing to give up that hour's market share for something a small as the health of our nation. There is money to be made!

 

[Homerboy]

That's awesome. I am very pleased to see the Democrats going for the jugular.

You might say that she "moved on him like a bitch" and "grabbed him by the pussy"

 

[MomentsofSanity]

The admin has responded... Someone should probably let them know that Congress is a separate but coequal branch of the government.

 

[Homerboy]

LOL man we have sunk to all time lows.

 

[soundforbjt]

Trump just canceled Nancy’s trip abroad until the shutdown is over


Edit: MOS beat me to it

 

[Jhhnn]

The admin has responded... Someone should probably let them know that Congress is a separate but coequal branch of the government.

Weak. Trump still doesn't get the live audience & the coverage he craves. I don't think Pelosi cares a helluva lot about that trip, anyway.

 

[IronWing]

Since when is not being sent to Afghanistan a bad thing?

 

[UberNeuman]

Apparently the location of the visits had been undisclosed due to safety concerns. And President Stupid revealed them in the letter.

 

[Indus]

LOL Those 20 hour trips can be hell on elderly travellers and Trump just gave Nancy an excuse to postpone or maybe even skip one.

 

[TheVrolok]

PR trips abroad vs SOTU.. Hmmm.

 

[BlueWeasel]

My god what a terribly written and petty letter.

Although nothing new, why does this dumbass insist on using a chisel tip Sharpie for his signature?

 

[dainthomas]

The admin has responded... Someone should probably let them know that Congress is a separate but coequal branch of the government.

Does he think he's her supervisor or something? She doesn't need his approval for crap.

 

[brycejones]

The Southern Border (love the caps) is open and dangerous according to the dotard.

 

[Homerboy]

Does he think he's her supervisor or something? She doesn't need his approval for crap.

Well, not to defend him, but I think she'd need his approval to use military aircraft for her travel? That's why he points out she can fly commercial?

 

[zinfamous]

The Southern Border (love the caps) is open and dangerous according to the dotard.

But it is still taking him ~2 weeks to decide whether or not it's an emergency because, you know, that's how you know it might be an emergency.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Well, not to defend him, but I think she'd need his approval to use military aircraft for her travel? That's why he points out she can fly commercial?

She doesn't need approval, but he can stop her from using military flights. I suggest she charter a plane but first check with Trudeau to see if Canada will oblige since this involves NATO. Who knows? Macron might

Trump isn't stopping anyone from traveling.

 

[Homerboy]

She doesn't need approval, but he can stop her from using military flights. I suggest she charter a plane but first check with Trudeau to see if Canada will oblige since this involves NATO. Who knows? Macron might

Trump isn't stopping anyone for traveling.

Right that's what I was saying. He can only prevent her from using a military jet to get there. He can't prevent her from traveling.

 

[Homerboy]

But it is still taking him ~2 weeks to decide whether or not it's an emergency because, you know, that's how you know it might be an emergency.

This is pretty much how I envision my family handling my first (and last) heart attack.

 

[kage69]

Giuliani, Miller, someone! needs to change Trump's diapers and put him down for a nap, stat. What a fucking baby.

 

[brycejones]

Giuliani, Miller, someone! needs to change Trump's diapers and put him down for a nap, stat. What a fucking baby.

Miller will tell him the stink in his pants is someone else's fault and Rudy will deny he ever shit his pants and that the order isn't shit but really the bestest scented flowers in the world.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Giuliani, Miller, someone! needs to change Trump's diapers and put him down for a nap, stat. What a fucking baby.

It's infantile, but there's no upside in doing this. She can still travel and blame Trump for the extra expense. Pelosi does as she pleases and Trump doesn't set foot in Congress. He can't even switch to the Senate it turns out because both leaders have to sign on, not just one. Trump can't even set foot in Congress without her approval and if he tries Pelosi can legally have the Sgt at Arms forcibly remove him. The Secret Security? They make sure Trump doesn't get beaten up, but out he would go.

 

[dainthomas]

She doesn't need approval, but he can stop her from using military flights. I suggest she charter a plane but first check with Trudeau to see if Canada will oblige since this involves NATO. Who knows? Macron might

Trump isn't stopping anyone from traveling.

Good plan!

Edit:

If that doesn't work out maybe she could visit a Coast Guard base and bring a fat check for the Coast Guard relief society? Something in the amount of her salary since Individual 1's man-baby tantrum started.

 

[Viper1j]

Ooooh somebody is really trying to rile up the tweeter in chief. Your move Donny.

He already made it.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/17/politics/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-trip-cancel/index.html

Trump denies Pelosi military aircraft for war zone trip

President Donald Trump said Thursday he was denying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a military plane for a trip to Afghanistan and other countries that was set to begin in the afternoon, a tit-for-tat retaliation that deepened the divide between the leaders and brought the government no closer to reopening.

The move, apparently in response to Pelosi's letter a day earlier suggesting the President reschedule his State of the Union address, made for high drama but little substance in the ongoing back-and-forth over border security.

As the partial government shutdown stretches nearly a month, the back-and-forth reflects a West Wing angling for the upper hand in a standoff with newly powerful Democrats.

Pelosi had been scheduled to leave within the hour that Trump's letter was made public, making for the awkward site of a large blue Air Force bus idling outside the Capitol as the implications of the President's missive came into focus.

The administration "worked with the Air Force and (the Defense Department) and basically took away the rights to the plane from the speaker," one White House official said.

The White House released Trump's letter to Pelosi a day after she suggested the President postpone his planned State of the Union address, scheduled for later this month, until the government shutdown is resolved.

"Due to the Shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed," Trump wrote Pelosi on Thursday. "We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the Shutdown is over."

Even though Afghanistan -- an active US combat zone -- was one of the countries on her planned itinerary, Trump suggested she fly commercial.

"Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative," Trump wrote.

The President of the United States has the authority to direct the Defense Department to not use military assets to support a congressional delegation to military theaters. This support includes air transport and additional security procedures.

Trump's penned retort amounted to his first public response to Pelosi's Wednesday letter in which she wrote: "I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after the government has re-opened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on January 29."
A Pelosi spokesman responded to Trump's letter pointing out the President's own shutdown trip to Iraq as well as one by Republican lawmakers.
"The purpose of the trip was to express appreciation & thanks to our men & women in uniform for their service & dedication, & to obtain critical national security & intelligence briefings from those on the front lines," Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill tweeted.

He also clarified her travel plans, which he said did not include a stop in Egypt, but did have a planned refueling stop in Brussels.

SOTU impasse

Trump and his aides -- loathe to abandon a key evening of presidential messaging yet intrigued by a new opening to break tradition -- have yet to strike on a path forward for the speech. Trump's letter to Pelosi did not address the scheduling of his address to Congress. And it did not offer any new incentives to return to negotiations on reopening closed-down agencies.
Just as Pelosi pointed to security officials working without pay as a reason to delay his State of the Union address, Trump said he was postponing Pelosi's trip "in light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay."
Trump also used the letter to jab at some of the time Pelosi has spent outside of Washington during the shutdown, saying that "it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the Shutdown."
Trump has expressed confusion at why his attempts to pressure Democrats for border wall funding have yielded no progress. Meanwhile, some of his advisers worry the mounting consequences for unpaid federal workers could further erode support for Trump's cause.
The State of the Union address, initially scheduled for January 29, was viewed as a potential turning point. One White House official said the administration had begun putting together a list of potential invited guests in the first lady's box, including some "angel families" of people killed by undocumented immigrants.
Those plans were thrown into flux on Wednesday when Pelosi wrote Trump, citing concerns over security during the shutdown, which has forced Secret Service employees to work without pay.

Upon receiving the letter, White House aides were unsure of how to proceed, people familiar with the matter said. The White House is weighing alternatives for the venue and style of Trump's State of the Union, but doesn't appear to have settled on a plan just yet, the people said.
GOP Rep. Mark Meadows, a close ally of the President's who is in frequent touch with the White House, said Thursday he believed Trump will deliver the speech outside the House Chamber.
"I think he'll give the State of the Union somewhere else, and Nancy's politics will come back to bite her," he said.

Trump himself viewed Pelosi's the letter as a political stunt, according to a person who discussed it with him. He did not raise it during a lunch meeting with lawmakers on Wednesday, and did not appear overly incensed by the move.
Some inside the West Wing have viewed Pelosi's letter as an opportunity to finally break the traditional State of the Union mold -- something previous White Houses have mulled but ultimately decided against. Others, however, are not in favor of a nontraditional State of the Union. And most believe they need more clarity from Pelosi before proceeding.
One Trump adviser told CNN's Jim Acosta part of the betting around the deliberations is that Pelosi will "fold" and allow Trump to deliver his speech in the House of Representatives. The adviser described the battle between Trump and Pelosi as "King Kong versus Godzilla."
Optics

Some advisers have pushed Trump to deliver the annual address from the Oval Office in order to continue projecting the message that he is sitting in the White House, waiting for Democrats to make a deal. That's an argument the President has repeatedly pressed over the past weeks to little avail.
However, a prime-time address delivered from the Oval Office earlier this month fell flat, a memory that could deter the President from selecting the audience-less venue for an annual tradition he actually likes to observe.
Trump told people last week he disliked the address to the nation he delivered from the Oval Office, which he believed looked and sounded flat and lifeless. He told a group of TV anchors ahead of the speech he was unconvinced that it would change any minds, but allowed some of his advisers to talk him into it.
Before the speech he spent a long while -- more than is typical for a President, according to a person familiar with the setup -- with aides adjusting the camera framing and lighting so that it met his specifications.
Watching clips afterward, Trump was even more convinced it was a useless exercise. One person who was with him says he grimaced when he saw a clip on television, believing it looked stilted and robotic. He said he doubted it was worth the trouble. And polls seemed to prove him right -- a Quinnipiac University survey this week showed only 2% of respondents' minds were changed about the border wall by the speech.
"Nobody wins in a shutdown. Nobody does. A lot of Americans are hurt because of it," said Marc Short, Trump's former White House legislative affairs director and a CNN political commentator. "I do think that Democrats also risk the reality of when this is over, will Americans look at this and say there is one side pushing border security and one side wasn't?"
Alternative plans

Is Pelosi's move against Trump exactly the fight he wants? 05:36
White House aides had already begun working on writing the State of the Union address, and had hoped to use it as an opportunity to hammer home the President's warning of an immigration crisis from the loudest megaphone he has.
With an address in the House Chamber thrown into question, some have suggested to the White House that Trump simply deliver the State of the Union speech from the Senate chamber instead, because the Republican-controlled upper body could invite the President rather than the Democratic-controlled House.
But as of Thursday there were no plans among Senate Republicans to invite the President to speak. And doing so would still require a 60-vote majority among senators, meaning some Democrats would have to come on board. A senior Republican congressional aide said the White House has not yet given guidance on any changes to its plan for the State of the Union.
The White House is also considering doing a rally-style State of the Union, which would be coordinated through Trump's campaign, a person familiar with the matter said. The idea is still preliminary, however, and formal plans have not been laid.
Many in Washington view the traditional State of the Union -- delivered in the House Chamber -- as a tired exercise. Aides to former President Barack Obama also considered taking the yearly speech on the road or delivering it in an alternative venue, though decided against it in the end.

Trump, however, has seen the speech as bolstering his presidential standing. He gained relatively positive reviews for his first two addresses to Congress, and enjoyed the applause that Republican lawmakers provided during his speeches.
For that reason, top aides are not moving forward with making firm alternative plans until they can gain some clarity from Pelosi about whether she has actually disinvited Trump from delivering the address.

As of Thursday morning it did not appear the two sides had spoken -- Pelosi said she'd received "no response" from the White House to her letter. During her weekly news conference, she denied she was attempting to withhold from Trump a high-profile venue to address Americans.

"I'm not denying him a platform at all," Pelosi said. "I'm saying, 'let's get a date when government is open.' "

 

[vi edit]

Petty Petty Princess strikes again.