Donald Trump is forging ahead as if he is actually delivering the State of the Union address to Congress and the nation next Tuesday. In a letter sent to Nancy Pelosi today, Trump tells the Speaker of the House that “I will be honoring your invitation, and fulfilling my Constitutional duty, to deliver important information to the people and Congress…”
JUST IN: President Trump tells Speaker Pelosi: See you on Tuesday for my State of the Union Address. pic.twitter.com/Fok8t44QTW
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) January 23, 2019
Last week Pelosi sent Trump her own letter saying “Sadly given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest we work together to determine another suitable date after government has re-opened.” As House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that basically meant “The State of the Union is off.”
The White House maintains Pelosi never formally rescinded her invitation, and is, in essence, calling her bluff.
“She has not canceled it. She asked us to postpone it,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in an interview Tuesday with Fox News Channel.
“We have no announcement at this time,” he said, “but Nancy Pelosi does not dictate to the president when he will or will not have a conversation with the American people.”
There is nothing more important to Trump than delivering the State of the Union.
It’s his biggest TV audience of the year.
800,000 people not getting a paycheck doesn’t really bother him but losing his spot on TV is too much to endure
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) January 23, 2019
No response yet from Pelosi, but CNN reports that she has still been signaling that the SOTU is off.
"I would say, without any inference to be drawn from it as to whether I think he’s coming or not, government should still be open… I wouldn’t spend any money to come out here," she said in caucus. https://t.co/UhunVMZDiT
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) January 23, 2019
Donald –
A teaching moment.
When @SpeakerPelosi says ‘no’ she doesn’t mean ‘convince me’. https://t.co/3GbNPAYR7x— Ken Olin (@kenolin1) January 23, 2019
UPDATE: Nancy Pelosi has responded to Trump’s demand/request by saying no. In a statement Pelosi said:” [T]he House will not consider a concurrent resolution that would authorize the president to deliver a State of the Union address in the House chamber until the government is reopened.”