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Bigs skip budget talks over tweet

THINGS WERE going smoothly as a bipartisan group of lawmakers worked together to avoid a government shutdown — and then President Trump tweeted.

Top Democrats dropped out of a planned White House sitdown with Trump on Tuesday after he insulted party leaders and tweeted that he “didn’t see a deal” hours before their scheduled sitdown, raising fears that the federal government is speeding toward the proverbial fiscal cliff.

“The staffs were making great progress until the President stepped in. We were very close on a number of issues,” said Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who along with top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California was supposed to meet with Trump and their Republican counterparts at the White House.

Congress has until Dec. 8 to pass a new spending bill to avert a shutdown.

“Meeting with ‘Chuck and Nancy’ today about keeping government open and working,” the President tweeted early Tuesday. “Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!” Schumer and Pelosi (photos below) later issued a statement saying they’d skip the “photo op.” Trump came up with one anyway — appearing in the White House’s Roosevelt room with an empty chair on either side of him for Schumer and Pelosi, telling reporters the pair is “all talk.” “We have a lot of differences,” he said, as House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell flanked the empty seats. “They’re weak on crime. They’re weak on illegal immigration. They’ve been weak on military in terms of spending.” Trump said he “would absolutely blame the Democrats” if there is a government shutdown next week, even though Republicans control both houses of Congress and the presidency. Pelosi shot back that Trump’s empty chairs prove he’s “more in-