Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump called Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi a “third grade politician” to her face at a meeting at the White House.
The Democratic leaders met with Trump to discuss his urgency to pull U.S. troops out of northern Syria, which many on both sides of the aisle have opposed. After the meeting, Schumer, Pelosi, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said the move would leave the Kurds in harm and that ISIS would spread if troops are pulled out.
WATCH:
Senate Minority Leader @SenSchumer says that President @realDonaldTrump, during their meeting, called @SpeakerPelosi a “third rate politician” and said to them, referring to the situation with the Kurds, that “there are communists involved and you guys might like that.” pic.twitter.com/Ir4H5f1eDN
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 16, 2019
Schumer also said Trump was rude to Pelosi, calling her a “third rate politician” and that he said, “there are communists involved and you guys might like that.” (RELATED: Impeachment Is Getting Harder For Democrats To Resist, Here’s What Those Close To Trump Are Saying About It)
After Schumer addressed the media, Pelosi corrected Schumer’s comments, saying Trump in fact called her a “third-grade politician.”
“You’re going to hear the president say we walked out. We were offended deeply by his treatment of the speaker of the House of Representatives. The president in my view has created a crisis in the Middle East. A crisis that undermines the world’s competence in America,” Hoyer said in a statement after their meeting with Trump.
Hoyer also echoed Schumer’s comments about Trump insulting Pelosi, saying he has never “seen a president treat so disrespectfully a co-equal branch of the government of the United States.” (RELATED: Nancy Pelosi Comes Out In Favor Of Impeachment)
“Unfortunately, the meeting deteriorated into a diatribe, as Leader Schumer has said, and very offensive accusations being made by the president of the United States. I have served with six presidents. I have been in many, many, many meetings like this. Never have I seen a president treat so disrespectfully a co-equal branch of the government of the United States.”
Trump sent a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the same day warning him to not “be a tough guy!” and “Don’t be a fool!” Trump also said he could ruin Turkey’s economy if Syria is not resolved in a humane way.