Earlier todayHouse and Senate Minority Leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer declared they would not be attending a previously scheduling meeting at the White House to talk about tax reform and avoiding a government shutdown. They were set to meet with President Trump, who did not allow their absence at the meeting to go unnoticed.
Sitting at the center of a conference table, President Trump displayed two empty chairs to his left and right, properly labeled with name tags for Pelosi and Schumer.
Paul R and Mitch M meet w/ @POTUS sans Chuck and Nancy pic.twitter.com/nCQmrigAUR
— Doug Andres (@DougAndres) November 28, 2017
Pelosi was unimpressed with the empty chair.
.@realDonaldTrump now knows that his verbal abuse will no longer be tolerated. His empty chair photo opp showed he’s more interested in stunts than in addressing the needs of the American people. Poor Ryan and McConnell relegated to props. Sad!
— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) November 28, 2017
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan were in attendance and slammed their Democrat colleagues for failing to show up.
"I think it's regrettable that our Democrat colleagues and leadership chose not to join us today. For a bill to become a law, Congress has to pass a bill, and the President signs the bill," Ryan said.
"You can’t negotiate without the person who signs bill in the room," McConnell added, saying he never imagined failing to show up for a meeting with President Obama. "Democrats need to understand how it works."
President Trump said he will blame Democrats if the government goes into a shutdown. The current budget continuing resolution expires December 8.
“If it happens it’s going to be over illegals pouring into the country, crime pouring into the country, no border wall, which everyone wants,” Trump said.