President Donald Trump on Wednesday vowed to continue the partial government shutdown after a contentious meeting with Democratic leaders about funding for the wall he wants to build along the US-Mexico border.
“Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time,” the president tweeted. “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!”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump “sort of slammed the table” and walked out of the room when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said no to funding for a wall or steel barrier.
“We saw a temper tantrum,” Schumer added.
Pelosi accused Trump of being out of touch and not comprehending how the government shutdown — which has lasted over two weeks and is poised to be the longest in US history — affects federal workers who’ve been furloughed, or temporarily laid off.
“He thinks maybe they could just ask their father for more money. But they can’t,” Pelosi said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Republican Rep. Steve Scalise rejected the notion that Trump slammed his hands on the table. Vice President Mike Pence also denied the claim, saying the president came into the room and “passed out candy.”
The White House has described the situation at the border as a crisis. Pence told reporters that Trump was still looking at declaring a national emergency.
Trump on Tuesday night delivered a speech on border security, seeking to garner support for a border wall. He made several inaccurate and misleading statements about immigration during his Oval Office address.
Read more: Fox News anchor Shep Smith doesn’t waste any time fact-checking Trump’s border-security speech
The president has pushed for a massive wall along the southern border since his 2016 campaign. But the plan lacks popular support, as polls have found that most Americans oppose building a wall.
A poll conducted late last year before the shutdown found that most US adults said Trump should compromise on the border wall to avoid a shutdown. And CNN reported on Tuesday that the average of polls since the shutdown suggested that most Americans blame Trump or congressional Republicans for the impasse.
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