Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:50 pm
Many people are now suggesting that Democrats in Congress give Trump his border wall funding in order to get the government reopened. But Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made very clear that giving in to Trump’s demands is not an option. The situation is similar to a terrorist hostage situation, and everyone knows that you simply do not negotiate with terrorists.
Pelosi also made clear that by giving in to Trump’s attempts to blackmail her in order to get his way, she would just encourage him to use the same illegal and immoral tactic in the future.
While Trump has been insanely tweeting from the White House Pelosi has been restrained and consistent in saying she is concerned about the families going without any income for so long.
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She first tweeted:
“Trump should stop holding the paychecks of America’s workers hostage to his radical demands. Our workers are suffering and he’s “proud†of it. It’s time he end the #TrumpShutdown now!â€
Trump should stop holding the paychecks of America’s workers hostage to his radical demands. Our workers are suffering and he’s “proud†of it. It’s time he end the #TrumpShutdown now!
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) January 22, 2019
Then she added her rationale for refusing to give in to Trump’s blackmail, tweeting:
“Understand this: if Trump gets away with shutting down the government to get what he wants, he will do this again going forward. He *will* continue to hold workers hostage to his demands.â€
Understand this: if Trump gets away with shutting down the government to get what he wants, he will do this again going forward. He *will* continue to hold workers hostage to his demands. -NP#TrumpShutdown
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) January 23, 2019
Her thinking on the topic was also shown in an interview she gave to ABC News, which tweeted this comment:
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “We cannot have the president, every time he has an objection, to say I’ll shut down the government until you come to my way of thinking…If we hold the employees hostage now, they’re hostage forever.â€
Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “We cannot have the president, every time he has an objection, to say I’ll shut down the government until you come to my way of thinking…If we hold the employees hostage now, they’re hostage forever.†https://t.co/GjzjkZ20Ko pic.twitter.com/GUreuWL4KC
— ABC News (@ABC) January 22, 2019
Nancy Pelosi knows that this is a test of her strength on Donald Trump’s part. He wants to see if he can blackmail her and the entire country into getting his way. And she knows he won’t stop at doing it just once — he will keep doing it to get his pet projects funded. (He’s too dumb, however, to see that if House Democrats gave in to Trump there would be outrage throughout the Democratic Party base also.)
If Democrats give Donald Trump his $5.7 billion in ransom money in order to get the government reopened, he would probably shut the government down again next month and demand even more money. He might demand that the Mueller probe be disbanded and that criminal charges against him be dropped.
Nancy Pelosi knows that if she gives in to Donald Trump it would give him almost unlimited power. And doing that would actually put federal employees and contractors who are out of work in even worse positions than they’re in right now.
Yes, it is sad to see so many federal workers and contractors and their families suffering. But Nancy Pelosi is right: we can’t negotiate with the terrorist in the White House. Doing that would only make a bad situation much, much worse.
The real solution to the shutdown problem is either for Mitch McConnell to grow a pair and stand up to the president, or for the president to be forced from office ASAP.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
