The Morning Briefing: Nancy Says No $$ for the Wall and Much, Much More

Good Thursday morning.

Here is what’s on the president’s agenda today:

No information yet on the president’s schedule

Must read: New from Lee Smith New Documents Suggest The Steele Dossier Was A Deliberate Setup For Trump

Deal or no deal?

No deal. So what happened in the big meeting yesterday? According to NBC News:

Emerging from a briefing in the Situation Room, House Minority Leader-designate Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters outside the White House that Trump had invited leaders back to continue negotiations on Friday.

“We never did get through the complete briefing,” McCarthy said, which was led by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who beamed in via video link from California. “I was a little disappointed with some on the other side. Once the secretary started, Senator Schumer interrupted her and they really didn’t want to hear it.” [Liz notes: sounds kind of sexist, eh?]

Just seconds after Nielsen began her presentation, according to two sources familiar with the meeting, House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif cut in. Democrats redirected the conversation to how they planned to open the government once they take control of the House tomorrow. [Liz notes: the House alone can’t “open the government,” she knows this.]

“Well, I will tell you that it became clear at the start that the government shutdown was a much bigger issue than Secretary Nielsen’s view of the border,” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., adding that “she has lost her credibility with most of us.

WH spokesman Hogan Gidley said about the meeting, “What [President Trump] wants on his desk is a bill that opens the government, that funds the government and protects the American people. And right now, the Democrats are not serious about that.”

“And you know they’re not serious because serious people with serious plans and serious proposals don’t negotiate in the press,” he added. “And that’s all that Democrats have done to this point.”

Pelosi was very clear that they will not give any money for the wall. “No, no. Nothing for the wall. We’re talking about border security,” she told Savannah Guthrie.

"Are you willing to come up and give him some of this money for the wall?" –@SavannahGuthrie
"No." -@NancyPelosi
"Because apparently that's the sticking point." -Guthrie
"No, no. Nothing for the wall." -Pelosi

Full exclusive interview tomorrow on TODAY pic.twitter.com/6zHKXJjPbb

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 2, 2019

Great. I’m ok with keeping the government shut down. It’s the Democrats who won’t negotiate and that will not go over well with the electorate.

Kudos to Guthrie for asking Nancy exactly this: “If you and the Democrats don’t meet halfway, if you don’t compromise, then why isn’t the shutdown partially your responsibility as well?”

“It has nothing to do with us. It has the president saying I will hold six agencies of government hostage to my campaign promise that I was going to build a wall, and that Mexico was going to pay for it,” Pelosi added. “That is so ridiculous … Mexico is not paying for it, A. And B, we have better use of funds to protect our border.”

Pelosi acts as if Trump keeping a campaign promise is a bad thing. Tens of millions of people voted for him because of that promise. Does that matter to Nancy? No, it doesn’t matter, just like it doesn’t matter to all the people and GOP politicians who want to fight Trump on border security. They don’t care what you want or what you voted for.

Romney still milking headlines from his virtue-whoring op-ed

This story continues to drag onnnnnnnn. The former GOP failed presidential candidate spoke with Jake Tapper (who else?) yesterday about the massive media bomb he generated with a self-righteous op-ed in the Washington Post.

“A leader has an impact, not just on policies but also on the character of the people who get to watch the person and I think in that scenario the president needs to focus more attention and hopefully make some changes there.” Romney continued: “I think it’s very important for a president to demonstrate the qualities of integrity and honesty, forthrightness, empathy and respect for the institutions of our democratic republic.”

Senator Rand Paul called Romney on his virtue-signaling act. “This is bad for the Republican Party and really bad for an ability to work together in the Senate to get things done, when you take the time to attack someone’s character,” Paul said, lumping Romney in with “Never Trumpers” in the GOP. “It’s virtue signaling. They say: ‘Look at how terrible the character of the president is.’ And by doing so they are building themselves up.”

Related:

AND LOOK AT THE MASTER VIRTUE-SIGNALER WEIGHING IN: Comey defends Romney for ‘calling out’ Trump

Romney says he won’t run against Trump in 2020

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