The president angrily shuts down infrastructure talks after Pelosi accused him earlier in the day of managing a ‘coverup’ in probes of his conduct and administration.
Usually, when President Trump is really steamed, he vents his spleen over a morning of disjointed tweets — a slow-mo meltdown. On Wednesday, it was the live-action movie version — on fast-forward.
Trump, ever the director and star of his own White House movie, staged his outburst in two acts.
Act 1: Blow up a White House meeting with Democratic lawmakers that was over before the first handshake. Bye-bye, Infrastructure Day.
Act 2: Stride to a podium at a hastily arranged Rose Garden news conference to say he won’t work with Democrats on infrastructure or anything else while they pursue the “investigation track.”
What set the president off was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) saying earlier Wednesday that Trump has engaged in a “coverup” related to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation and other probes.
“I don’t do coverups,” Trump angrily told reporters who had been hustled outside with little notice and less information.
Trump — who with his allies is actively working to block more than 20 separate investigations by Democrats — called himself “the most transparent president, probably, in the history of this country,” and said he had been ready to discuss infrastructure and other priorities before Pelosi’s remark.
Trump had complained earlier Wednesday on Twitter that Democrats, dissatisfied with Mueller’s findings, are seeking a “DO OVER” through congressional investigations.
The mounting inquiries have angered the president for weeks, but those investigations had not stopped the White House from scheduling Wednesday’s meeting. The meeting was still on, with the original agenda, as of midmorning, White House and other officials said.
