Trump grounds Speaker's plane in tit-for-tat
President Donald Trump clipped the wings of Democratic party leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday, scrapping her foreign travel plans in a new twist to the government shutdown feud.
Pelosi had suggested postponing Trump's January 29 State of the Union address to Congress. Although she cited the shutdown's effect on security, she appeared to want to deny the president one of his chief annual moments in the limelight.
In a letter laced with sarcasm and accompanied by his dramatic signature, Trump responded in kind.
"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," he wrote. "I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is appropriate."
Rubbing it in, Trump said that Pelosi could still book her own non-government flights.
"Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative," he wrote.
The personal feud between Trump and Pelosi is just one facet of a political crisis sparked by the Democrats' refusal to approve funding for a Trump project to build more walls along the US-Mexican...