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New York Times: “After a series of misadventures, Mr. Trump has conspicuously laid off personal attacks aimed at Ms. Pelosi. Even as the standoff over funding a border wall appears to be finally ending with a deal seen as a defeat for the president, he has blamed unnamed Democrats but not their most prominent leader. And there has been no undermining Trumpian nickname — the president has said his moniker for Ms. Pelosi is, simply, ‘Nancy.'”
“Mr. Trump, who once stalked Hillary Clinton, the former Democratic nominee, around the presidential debate stage and continues to encourage ‘lock her up’ chants at his rallies more than two years later, simply gazed up at Ms. Pelosi during his State of the Union address — and then found himself the target of ridicule for the picture of her giving him what appeared to be a dismissive clap of the hands.”
“Without his anticipated punching bag, Mr. Trump has been left searching for an alternative, delivering haphazard attacks on Democrats as they announce their presidential campaigns, trial-and-error hits on an inchoate field of 2020 contenders.”
“I think she’s doing great. I think she’s actually doing a great job. I’m very proud that she was able to hold the caucus together during the longest shutdown in American history. I think she got concessions from the president. I think she’s showing people who’s boss and I very much understand that she’s in an extraordinarily difficult position.”
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), in an interview with NPR, on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
A new Quinnipiac poll finds American voters trust Speaker Nancy Pelosi more than President Trump, 49% to 42% “on issues that are important to you.” Independent voters trust Pelosi more than Trump by 49% to 36%.
Men trust Trump more, 48% to 42%. Women trust Pelosi more 54% to 37%.
White voters trust Trump more 52% to 42%. Black voters go to Pelosi 82% to 2% and Hispanic voters trust her more 62% to 27%.
“Nancy Pelosi’s first showdown with President Trump began with him publicly questioning her political viability. It ended with the House speaker winning an unmitigated victory and reviving her reputation as a legislative savant,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump’s capitulation — agreeing to reopen the federal government after a 35-day standoff without funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall — generated rave reviews for Pelosi from fellow Democrats and grudging respect from Republicans who watched as she kept an unruly party caucus united in the face of GOP divide-and-conquer tactics.”
“Pelosi emerges from the shutdown as a stronger leader of her party — and more popular with the public, by early measures — as Democrats eye aggressive efforts to counter Trump’s agenda through ambitious legislation and tough oversight. That suggests the shutdown might have been a strategic misstep for Trump, in addition to a tactical error.”
“Our diversity is our strength. But our unity is our power. And that is what maybe the president underestimated.”
— Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), quoted by the Washington Post.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that just because the federal government is expected to fully reopen soon does not necessarily mean the State of the Union address will take place next week, CNN reports.
Said Pelosi: “The State of the Union is not planned now. What I said to the President is when the government is open we will discuss a mutually agreeable date, and I’ll look forward to doing that and welcoming the President to the House of Representatives for the State of the Union when we agree on that.”
Alex Wagner: “Trump has intersected with powerful women before—Hillary Clinton, most notably—and showed little hesitation to diminish and demean. But Pelosi, who once joked to me she eats nails for breakfast, is a ready warrior. She is happy to meet the demands of war, whereas Clinton was reluctant, semi-disgusted, and annoyed to be dragged to the depths that running against Trump demanded.”
“The speaker of the House is, technically, a coastal elite from San Francisco, but she was trained in the hurly burly of machine politics of Baltimore by her father, Mayor Thomas D’Alessandro. It is not a coincidence that Pelosi has managed, over and over, to vanquish her rivals in the challenges for Democratic leadership: she flocks to the fight, not just because she usually wins, but apparently, because she likes it.”
“White House officials were caught off guard Wednesday by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally disinviting President Trump from giving his State of the Union address from the House chamber, leaving them scrambling for a response,” CNN reports.
“White House officials had believed Pelosi wanted only to postpone Trump’s State of the Union for political reasons after she sent a letter to him last week asking him to delay the address until after the partial government shutdown ended. The plan from administration officials was to call her bluff by pressing forward with plans to deliver the speech, including a new letter on Wednesday that they hoped would force her hand.”
“Now they’re left exploring alternative venues.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in a letter to President Trump that the House will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the president’s address in the House chamber until the government has opened, the Washington Post reports.
Pelosi’s response came shortly after President Trump said he would show up at the House for the prime-time speech on Tuesday.
Back at the White House, the New York Times reports Trump offered a quick retort, telling reporters: “I’m not surprised. It’s really a shame what’s happening with the Democrats. They’ve become radicalized.”
“A day after President Trump canceled military flights for a planned congressional trip to Afghanistan, Speaker Nancy Pelosi abandoned her plans to travel instead on commercial flights due to security concerns,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Pelsoi spokesman Drew Hammill: “After President Trump revoked the use of military aircraft to travel to Afghanistan, the delegation was prepared to fly commercially to proceed with this vital trip to meet with our commanders and troops on the front lines.”
However, he added that a new State Department threat assessment indicated “that the President announcing this sensitive travel had significantly increased the danger to the delegation and to the troops, security, and other officials supporting the trip. . . . This morning, we learned that the Administration had leaked the commercial travel plans as well.”
President Trump retaliated against Speaker Nancy Pelosi for threatening to cancel his planned State of the Union address on Jan. 29, writing in a letter that he, in turn, was postponing her planned trip abroad, calling it a “public relations event,” the New York Times reports.
Wrote Trump: “I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt and Afghanistan has been postponed. We will reschedule this seven day excursion when the shutdown is over.”
“Presumably, the president is refusing to provide military transport that is traditionally provided to the House speaker or congressional delegations. In the letter, tinged with sarcasm, he wrote that she could still take the trip if she chose to fly commercial.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that President Trump’s border wall push has nothing to do with border security, but is instead designed to energize his conservative base and distract the country from the various scandals dogging his administration, The Hill reports.
Said Pelosi: “I don’t even know if the president wants the wall. I think he just wants a debate on the wall. And he’s having some difficulty with it.”
Molly Ball: “A new year has dawned in Washington, and this is what it looks like: a partial government shutdown in its third week; a new Congress sworn in only to sit on its hands; an emboldened House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refusing to cede an inch; and an angry President Trump abandoning negotiations to take to television and make the case for crisis measures.”
“But step back from the sordid details, and you could hardly get a more accurate tableau of America’s new political reality: a nonfunctioning federal government whose leaders, each insisting the stakes are too high to budge, have retreated to their corners. At the center of the drama are the two towering figures whose clash will define the next biennium: Trump and Pelosi, the yang and yin of a divided America, two powerful leaders with their credibility on the line, both convinced they hold the winning hand.”
“Neither can afford to lose…. Trump, true to his tendencies, acts on impulse, prevaricates, shreds norms and takes unilateral actions of questionable legality. He stumbles into authoritarianism, not out of calculation but out of machismo. Meanwhile, the Speaker, true to her tendencies, unites her wayward party behind a carefully chosen, logical course of action, but her best-laid plans may still be no match for an extraordinary moment. Ultimately, it is fitting that Trump, avatar of chaos, should face off against Pelosi, master of rules. And there’s no end in sight for the clash of these two titanic figures.”
Playbook: “Speaker Nancy Pelosi won’t be changing her flying habits now that she has regained the speaker’s gavel. The California Democrat ‘intends to travel commercially,’ according to her deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill. The speaker can make use of an Air Force jet to travel around the country given she is second in line to the presidency.”
First Read: “And if you want to know why the shutdown pressure is on McConnell, just look at how Trump has unified House Democrats. The drama of whether or not Nancy Pelosi was going to get the votes she needed to be speaker ended the moment after last month’s Oval Office meeting with Trump.”
“And, of course, Pelosi got the votes she needed on Thursday.”
“Trump has done more to help Pelosi — and unify Democrats — than anyone out there.”
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House Democrats are “absolutely” united behind presumed incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) said, putting the caucus in line behind the longtime Democratic leader as she prepares to face off against President Trump on ending an ongoing government shutdown, Politico reports.
Said Ryan: “I don’t think anyone at any point questioned her ability to negotiate, for her to be in rooms like the one she’s going to be in today, like the one she was in last week, and be as effective as anybody else in our caucus or in our party.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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