TCR Brief: Pelosi And Schumer’s No-Show For Tete-A-Tete With Trump Makes Them Look Bad, Not Him

Trump and Republicans seem eager to move on the next fight: the budget, which could shut the government down by early December unless an agreement is reached with Democrats. And Democratic Leadership managed to bungle the first battle by deciding not to show up for a White House meeting after Trump Tweeted nasty at them:

Of course Trump started it, but Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer didn’t have to take the bait. Because they played right into the President’s hands. Now if we’re headed for a government shutdown, for the first time is does kinda look like it’s on them.

Their absence gave Trump the ability to turn the tables. To say — unchallenged — things like: “If it happens I will absolutely blame the Democrats” and “They’ve been all talk and they’ve been no action. And now it’s even worse: now it’s not even talk.” And be at least partly right.

Making it look even worse, the meeting they bailed on came just a few hours after North Korea launched their longest-range missile yet, allowing Trump to suggest Democratic Leadership doesn’t even care about that.

So even the timing of that launch turned out to be propitious for Trump, because it gave him the opportunity to look even tougher at a time when he was trying to look tough.

And of course the White House made the most of it, seating Trump, arms crossed, between two empty chairs with Pelosi and Schumer’s name cards in front, while Republican leaders Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell sat some distance away. As if that’s what the seating chart really would’ve been had they shown…

Yes, it allowed self-satisfied Dems to chortle and create a new meme and claim the stunt backfired. Except that doesn’t change the fact it’s still an effective visual.

(This story originally appeared in “The Chaos Report” Newsletter. Subscribe at https://thechaosreport.com/subscribe/?scr=Medium)