You think you have had bad meetings?
Here's the set-up. The Kurds, our long-time allies against Saddam Hussein, al-Qaeda, Bashar al-Assad, and then as the primary fighters against ISIS, have been cut loose by President Trump. The Turks are crossing into Syria for some Kurdish "ethnic cleansing" using their Russian allies to help. The U.S. military presence that had protected the Kurds in northern Syria is abruptly done. Our soldiers have been ordered by the Commander-in-Chief to immediately abandon their bases and evacuate. Their compulsory haste is so great that they leave their facilities intact for Turks and Russians to seize. In fact, the U.S. has to order airstrikes to circle back and bomb an abandoned ammunitions depot rather than let it fall into Russian/Turkish hands!
It's appalling and humiliating and will set back American foreign policy and military credibility for ages. So, naturally, a meeting at the White House is held to explain things to Congressional leaders.
Trump starts by distributing and bragging about his tough guy letter to Erdogan (the one which the Turkish leader promptly tossed into the wastebasket and then launched his offensive against the Kurds). By all accounts, it is a meandering and braggadocios monologue.
Pelosi tells Trump that the House had voted 354 - 60 against his actions in Syria (including 123 Republicans). Shivving the Kurds has finally stirred up some GOP outrage. As Speaker of the House, she wants to know what his plan is going forward. Let's let Nancy tell it: "Then the President said, 'Well, the reason I'm taking the troops out of Syria is because I promised in the campaign to bring the troops home.' My question to him was, Is Saudi Arabia home? Why are our troops going to Saudi Arabia?"
"He said, 'Well, the Saudi Arabians are paying for it.'
"Really? We're putting our troops in harm's way for Saudi Arabia? It just didn't add up. What it did do was cause a meltdown on the part of the president because he was unhappy with those questions."
She pressed him for his plan for the region, including how to contain a newly liberated ISIS. He responded, "My plan is to keep the American people safe."
"That's a goal, not a plan!" she retorted. After listening to Trump claim he "had captured ISIS" Pelosi explained that by removing ourselves from Syria we created a Mideast power vacuum for Russia to fill - a long-time goal of theirs.
"All roads with you lead to Putin." Ka-bloowey!!
During Trump's meltdown he called the Speaker of the House a "third-rate politician." He claimed that there were communists in Syria, "so you (Democrats) should like that." After House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer voiced, "This is not useful" he and Pelosi stood to leave. "Goodbye! See you at the polls!" yelled President Goombah.
(For a nice short rundown on this lovely exchange, check out the Associated Press's reconstruction, using "anonymous sources." It's really good: 'See you at the polls'
So... The picture of Nancy P standing up to Trump is going into the history books. It will be the emblematic moment when a person - a woman - finally had the balls to confront The Mad King face to face. And the cracking sound of the Titanic's hull just got louder.
Honestly, just look at the expressions from the Trump side of the table. I've seen these kind of downward-cast facial sets before. We all have. It's when something is being said that you know to be true, and you can't even raise your eyes or voice because you know you are in the wrong.
Even the bust of Benjamin Franklin looks honked-off. He's there along with a painting of the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence (they seem to be hailing her). And in the Oval Office, there are portraits of Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson and Jackson. They are not pleased with President Occupant, either.
After hearing Pelosi refer to his "meltdown" the President had this picture tweeted out with typical disparaging language, claiming that she had had the meltdown. And in her own Queen Boss fashion, Pelosi now uses the picture as the header for her own Twitter account:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Twitter account
Standing up to the bully. Telling truth to power. He must hate her as much as he fears her.
The next several months will be filled with plenty of deranged Trumpkin pushback. It will seem at times that he will succeed. He does not lack for ridiculous, powerful and loud supporters. But his ship has begun taking on water, and as the boat starts to list, those voices will diminish. It looks like the stars in their courses have begun to align. And this image will forever be associated with what is to come.
