Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said Thursday that if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) put her personal feelings toward President Trump aside, it’d be a lot easier to strike a deal to end the weeks-long government shutdown.
“I would just point out hate is a very underestimated emotion,” Kennedy said on CNN. “I don’t know who said that, but someone did. And I think Mrs. Pelosi is allowing her distaste for the President to interfere with resolving this shutdown.”
Sen. John Kennedy: Pelosi allowing her "distaste" for Trump to interfere with getting a deal pic.twitter.com/sUq6XaVs1q
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) January 10, 2019
There were conflicting reports about the tenor of a meeting between Trump and congressional leaders on Wednesday. The President walked out of the meeting after Pelosi made clear she wouldn’t accede to Trump’s demand for a border wall. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called it a “temper tantrum.” Trump, for his part, called the meeting a “waste of time.”
Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time. I asked what is going to happen in 30 days if I quickly open things up, are you going to approve Border Security which includes a Wall or Steel Barrier? Nancy said, NO. I said bye-bye, nothing else works!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2019