Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Trump’s relationship may be beyond repair, and the…

Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiDemocrats tear into Trump’s speech: It was a ‘MAGA rally’READ: Speaker Pelosi’s response to Trump’s State of the Union addressPelosi hammers Trump’s speech: ‘A manifesto of mistruths’MORE (D-Calif.) and President TrumpDonald John TrumpDemocrats tear into Trump’s speech: It was a ‘MAGA rally’READ: Speaker Pelosi’s response to Trump’s State of the Union addressPelosi hammers Trump’s speech: ‘A manifesto of mistruths’MOREs relationship may be beyond repair, and the only thing that might break the tension could be the November election itself.
The partnership between Washingtons two top powerhouses has always been fraught. But their ongoing feud took a turn for the worse during Trumps third State of the Union address when the president appeared to snub the Speaker as she tried to shake his hand and Pelosi tore up a copy of his speech before the cameras.
Even though Trump didnt mention impeachment during his nearly 90-minute address, it was clearly the elephant in the room on the eve of the Senate vote to acquit him of two impeachment charges passed by the House.
I have never seen a relationship between a sitting Speaker and a president this bad, observed Rep. John ShimkusJohn Mondy ShimkusConservative Club for Growth backs Texas House Republican’s primary challengerRepublicans eye legislation to rival Democrats’ sweeping climate planOvernight Energy: House passes sweeping bill on ‘forever chemicals’ | Green groups question Pentagon about burning of toxic chemicals | Steyer plan would open US to climate refugeesMORE (R-Ill.), who arrived in Congress in 1997, in the middle of legendary battles between then-Speaker Newt GingrichNewton (Newt) Leroy GingrichMORE (R-Ga.) and President Clinton.
Shimkus, who is retiring this year, said Trump should have shook her hand but Pelosi should have shown more respect.
It doesnt speak to our higher angels, Shimkus added. Your enemy today is your ally tomorrow. Ive subscribed to that for 24 years. In this case, your enemy today is your enemy tomorrow, and we hope we can get something done.
Past Speakers and presidents of different parties have always clashed publicly, but behind the scenes there were intimate, personal relationships. In 1995, Gingrich and Clinton, two politicians from the South, shared a stage in Claremont, N.H., a meeting dubbed the Historic Handshake.
More recently, former Speaker John BoehnerJohn Andrew BoehnerJordan says he will support McCarthy for Speaker if majority flips next yearCollins Senate bid sets off game of musical chairs for GOPA time for war, a time for peace and always a time to defend AmericaMORE (R-Ohio), as he fended off attacks from Tea Party conservatives, golfed with former President Obama and once secretly met with him at the White House as they tried to build rapport for striking a grand bargain spending deal.
Pelosi and Trump are a long way from that.
Before Tuesday nights memorable speech, the two septuagenarian leaders hadnt seen each other since a contentious Oct. 16 meeting at the White House about Syria. That meeting took place only a few weeks after House Democrats launched their impeachment inquiry.
Pelosi walked out after Trump called her a third-rate or third grade politician, depending on who you ask because the two sides couldnt even agree on what insult they heard.
Trump at one point told Pelosi that I hate ISIS more than you do, while she told him that all roads with you lead to Putin.
She later told reporters at the Capitol that we have to pray for his health because Trump had a very serious meltdown.
A photo released by the White House of Pelosi standing at a table and pointing her finger at Trump in the meeting went viral.
But even that wasnt the first time that one of them couldnt stand being in the room with the other for long. Trump in May walked out of a scheduled meeting with Pelosi and other Democratic leaders about infrastructure after the Speaker had earlier in the day accused him of engaging in a cover-up.
And in December 2018, Pelosi and Trump clashed in an Oval Office meeting about funding the government that was carried live on the television networks. Trump tried to taunt Pelosi who was still rounding up the votes for Speaker at the time by noting that Nancys in a situation where its not easy for her to talk right now.
Mr. President, please don’t characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting as the leader of the House Democrats, who just won a big victory,” Pelosi retorted.
The longest government shutdown in history commenced less than two weeks later.
Each encounter ultimately helped Pelosi score points with the Democratic base and her own caucus.
House Democrats gave Pelosi a standing ovation during a closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday as she recounted how she decided to rip up Trumps speech while sitting behind him during the address.
I didnt go in there to tear up the speech, and I didnt even care that he didnt shake my hand. In fact, who cares? Pelosi said, according to sources in the room.
About a quarter through it I thought, You know hes selling a bill of goods like a snake oil salesman. We cannot let this stand, she said. So, somewhere along the way realizing what was coming, I started to stack my papers in a way that were tear-able.
House Majority Leader Steny HoyerSteny Hamilton HoyerDemocrats tear into Trump’s speech: It was a ‘MAGA rally’This week: Trump to give State of the Union before impeachment trial wrapsDemocrats face uphill battle against Trump’s Medicaid overhaulMORE (D-Md.) said the tensions between Congress and presidents of opposing parties are hardly rare. But Trumps provocative conduct, he said, has sparked a unique degree of personal hostility between the sides.
There’s a lot of personal animosity that the president has generated, Hoyer told reporters on Wednesday. None of us had that personal animosity against George Bush.
Thats not to say that House Democrats and the Trump administration have been unable to agree on anything. They reached a bipartisan budget deal over the summer and revised a trade pact with Mexico and Canada, in addition to funding the government, right around the time that the House voted to impeach Trump in December.
But all of those deals were notched between Pelosi and intermediaries like Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinUSDA issues last batch of aid to farmers impacted by trade warHillicon Valley: Senate report on Russian interference expected next week | Facebook targets coronavirus misinformation | FCC says wireless carriers broke law by selling location dataGlobal digital tax talks to move forwardMORE and U.S. Trade Representative Robert LighthizerRobert (Bob) Emmet LighthizerGOP senator warns quick vote on new NAFTA would be ‘huge mistake’Pelosi casts doubt on USMCA deal in 2019Pelosi sounds hopeful on new NAFTA deal despite tensions with White HouseMORE not Trump.
The president doesn’t like Nancy Pelosi, and Nancy Pelosi’s not wild about Donald Trump. That could be said of a number of different Congresses, probably, and presidents, Hoyer said. But we have a responsibility to work together. We have done that, and we’re prepared to do it.