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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Donald Trump for disrupting the economic stimulus talks over the coronavirus, accusing the president of “putting himself first at the expense of the country.”
The California Democrat said the president was doing it “with the full complicity of the Republican members of Congress.”
“Walking away from the coronavirus talks shows that President Trump is unwilling to crush the virus,” Pelosi said in a statement. workers, teachers and others, and refuses to put money in workers’ pockets unless their name is printed on the check. “
The sudden announcement from the president sent US equity markets tumbling. They had been hopeful of a new deal to further bolster what has been a sluggish economy since the virus began to spread from coast to coast. The Dow Jones was down 500 points, but that drop had improved to about 280 points at 3.30pm. This led the top House Democrat to claim that Trump is putting himself above the needs of his people.
“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 working Americans and small businesses,” the president tweeted as he was convalescing in the residence of the White House.
“Nancy Pelosi is asking for $ 2.4 trillion to bail out crime-ridden, mismanaged Democratic states, money that is in no way related to COVID-19. We made a very generous offer of $ 1.6 trillion and, like usually, she is not negotiating in good faith. I am rejecting her … request and looking to the future of our country, “Trump wrote.
To be clear, there was no deal in sight when Trump consolidated his position on Tuesday.
Trump has for months accused Pelosi of negotiating in bad faith and pushing what he has described as an unreasonable liberal wish list during the talks.
She claims she sent White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, a former Conservative Congressman from North Carolina, to keep an eye on Mnuchin and prevent him from reaching a deal that Democrats might call a campaign victory.
A Pelosi aide confirmed the talks had been formally delayed in a tweet later that day.
“The secretary confirmed that the president has withdrawn from the COVID talks,” wrote spokesman Drew Hammill. “The spokeswoman expressed disappointment at the president’s decision to abandon the health and economic needs of the American people.”
