Why Donald Trump is refusing to work with Democrats
US president rages at hastily arranged press conference after terminating infrastructure summit
Donald Trump says he refuses to work with Democrats unless they stop investigating him and lift the threat of impeachment.
The US president cut short a meeting with Democratic leaders about an infrastructure plan after just a few minutes yesterday.
Then, in a hastily arranged press conference in the Rose Garden outside the Oval Office, he said: “Instead of walking in happily into a meeting, I walk into, look at people that have just said that I was doing a cover-up.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a tirade which CNN said showed Trump’s “deepening rage with Democrats”, he added: “I don’t do cover-ups. You people know that probably better than anybody.”
He was apparently referring to House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who had told reporters that he was “engaging in a cover-up”.
Talking directly about allegations that he colluded with Moscow during the 2016 election, he continued: “We did nothing wrong. They would have loved to say we colluded... they were out to get us. The crime was committed on the other side. We will see how that all turns out.”
A poster declaring “no collusion” was affixed to his podium, underneath the presidential seal.
Minutes later, Democrats had their say. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said that what happened at the White House would “make your jaw drop” and suggested that Trump had planned the entire stunt in advance.
Pelosi added: “Maybe it was lack of confidence on his part, he couldn’t match the greatness of the challenge that we have. He just took a pass and it just makes me wonder why he did that. In any event, I pray for the president of the United States and I pray for the United States of America.”
Trump faced a significant blow later in the day when a New York judge ruled that he would not block recent congressional subpoenas demanding the US president’s financial records from two banks.
“I will not enjoin enforcement of the subpoenas,” Judge Edgardo Ramos said, after hearing arguments from lawyers for Trump and Congress.
CNN said: “It just got harder for Donald Trump to keep his tax returns a secret”, while The New York Times said Trump’s “financial secrets” have moved “closer to disclosure”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Winchcombe meteorite: space rock may reveal how water came to Earth
The Explainer New analysis of its violent journey confirms scientific theories on the origin of our planet's H2O
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Liz Truss to save the West: is a political comeback really on the cards?
Talking Point The former prime minister is back with a new tell-all memoir
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Fallout: one of the 'most faithful – and best – video game adaptations'
The Week Recommends This 'genre-bending' new Amazon series is set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness where survivors shelter below ground
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Making sense of FISA's strange bedfellows in Congress
The Explainer How a controversial intelligence gathering law is bringing progressive Democrats and privacy hawk Republicans together
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Why are Republicans trying to change Nebraska's Electoral College vote?
Today's Big Question It's a chance for Donald Trump to block Joe Biden's path to re-election
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
House GOP scuttles FISA vote at Trump's urging
Speed Read Right-wing lawmakers blocked Speaker Mike Johnson's surveillance bill
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
To win the election, Trump is changing how elections are run
Under The Radar While the former president campaigns for a second term in office, he and his team have quietly been working to tilt the nation's electoral rules in his favor.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'What a difference a judge makes'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'For employers and their workers, welcome to a minefield'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published