Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

Trump has a meltdown at White House meeting

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US,(DAILY MAIL),17OCTOBER 2019 -A White House meeting on Syria policy quickly turned explosive on Wednesday when President Donald Trump called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a ‘third-grade’ politician.

Their meeting abruptly ended with top Democrats walking out of the White House and Pelosi slamming Trump for having a ‘meltdown’. The administra­tion had called in congressio­nal leadership to discuss the situation in Syria.

The House had just voted, 354-60, to overwhelmi­ngly oppose the president’s announced U.S. troop withdrawal, a rare bipartisan rebuke.

Pelosi mentioned the House vote and Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, started to read the president a quote from former Defense Secretary James Mattis on the need to keep U.S. troops in Syria to prevent a resurgent of Islamic State fighters.

But Trump cut Schumer off, complainin­g that Mattis was ‘the world’s most overrated general.

Trump said to Pelosi: ‘I hate ISIS more than you do.’

Pelosi responded: ‘You don’t know that.’ Schumer intervened at one point and said: ‘Is your plan to rely on the Syrians and the Turks?’

Trump replied: ‘Our plan is to keep the American people safe.’

Pelosi said: ‘That’s not a plan. That’s a goal.’ Trump turned to Pelosi and complained about former President Barack Obama’s ‘red line’ over Syria. According to Schumer, he then called her ‘a third-rate politician’.

At that point, the genteel Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the House Majority Leader, interjecte­d, saying ‘This is not useful.’

 ??  ?? Speaker Nancy Pelosi walks out of the White House with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (DM)
Speaker Nancy Pelosi walks out of the White House with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (DM)

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