Trump pulls US out of Davos, grounds Nancy Pelosi

Donald Trump pulled the US from the Davos talkfest after his feud with Nancy Pelosi erupted into a bitter tit-for-tat brawl.

An Air Force bus waits to pick up a congressional delegation for the cancelled military flight. Picture: AP

Donald Trump yesterday pulled the US from the Davos talkfest after his feud with Nancy Pelosi over the government shutdown erupted into a bitter tit-for-tat brawl, with the President postponing an overseas visit by the Democrat leader.

The collapse in relations between the two key negotiators over the shutdown has shattered hopes of a rapid resolution to the deadlock now in its 28th day, the longest shutdown on record.

The President cancelled the US delegation’s trip to the annual international conference at Davos, saying the officials were needed in Washington to tackle the shutdown. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had been due to head the five-strong delegation that also included Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

And the State Department instructed all diplomats in Washington and elsewhere to return to work next week with pay, saying it had found money for their salaries at least temporarily.

The move by Mr Trump, only hours before Ms Pelosi was due to depart, was in retaliation for her call the day before for the President to postpone his State of the Union address this month if the government remained shut.

Republican senator Lindsey Graham hit out at the behaviour of the President and Ms Pelosi.

“One sophomoric response does not deserve another,” he said. “Speaker Pelosi’s threat to cancel the State of the Union is very irresponsible and blatantly political. President Trump denying Speaker Pelosi military travel to visit our troops in Afghanistan, our allies in Egypt and NATO is also inappropriate.”

Only hours before house speaker Ms Pelosi was due to depart on a congressional trip, Mr Trump wrote her a letter to inform her that he was postponing her three-country visit.

“Due to the shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed,” Mr Trump wrote in his letter, released by the White House. “We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the shutdown is over. In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate.”

He said the 78-year-old Ms ­Pelosi was welcome to continue her trip but she would need to do so on a commercial, rather than military aircraft.

“I also feel that during this period it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the shutdown,” Mr Trump wrote. “I look forward to seeing you soon and even more forward to watching our open and dangerous southern border finally receive the attention, funding and security it so desperately deserves!”

The White House was blindsided by Ms Pelosi’s call to postpone or deliver in writing the State of the Union scheduled for January 29 — a move that would deny Mr Trump a prime-time spotlight. The President has not responded to Ms Pelosi’s call.

Speaking earlier in the day, Mr Trump accused her of stopping her fellow Democrats from negotiating to end the shutdown.

“The party has been hijacked by the open-borders fringe within the party. The radical left becoming the radical Democrats. Hopefully, Democratic lawmakers will step forward to do what is right for our country, and what is right for our country is border security at the strongest level,” he said.

Mr Trump said he remained committed to the need for a wall spanning the length of the US-Mexico border. The shutdown has occurred because the Democrats have refused to meet Mr Trump’s demand that a funding bill include $US5.7 billion ($7.9bn) for his proposed wall. Democrats have argued a wall is immoral.

Both sides are trying to outlast the other with neither showing any flexibility in their demands. However, with polls showing that a majority of Americans blame the President for the shutdown, the pressure is growing on the White House to take action to reopen the government.

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia