In a show of bald-faced hypocrisy, Donald Trump, flanked by Speaker Paul Ryan and Leader Mitch McConnell, taunted Democrats Tuesday for deciding "not to show up" at a White House budget meeting where Trump had pointedly promised them their time would be totally wasted.
Trump led the “empty chair” photo op by urging Americans to relax about North Korea’s latest launch of an ICBM: "We will take care of it." He then immediately pivoted to skewering Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, saying the military is "secondary to them" and "they want tax increases" before concluding:
They’ve been all talk and they’ve been no action.
No one would know better than Trump.
Ryan—who will definitely need Democratic votes to pass a bill to keep the government funded in the House—agreed with Trump that their absence was "regrettable" and then offered them a Congressional 101 lesson on how things work:
“For a bill to become a law, Congress has to pass a bill and the president signs the bill. [...] We have important work to do, we have big deadlines to meet..."
Yes, you do, Paul, and just FYI, your inability to even comprehend what the word "negotiation" means is where a little education might need to take place.
McConnell, not wanting to miss out on a missed opportunity at actual negotiation, piled on with a lie.
“I would just add, I have been in this position under a couple of previous presidents, I can't recall ever turning down an opportunity to go down to the White House. [...] So I think the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate need to understand the way the government works. ”
Right, so Ryan and McConnell, who have systematically cut Democrats out of negotiations over every consequential bill this year, suddenly want Democrats to show up for a negotiation in which Trump preemptively pledged, “I don’t see a deal!” And by the way, the last time that same guy did see a deal with them, he reneged.
Trying to figure out what these three jokers are even thinking hurts the brain.