Pelosi Calls Trump’s Decision To End COVID-19 Relief Negotiations a ‘Terrible Mistake’

As President Donald Trump appears to be backtracking a little bit from his decision to call off negotiations on a new COVID-19 relief bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says he is trying to recover from a mistake.

“The fact is, is that he saw the political downside of his statement of walking away from the negotiation,” Pelosi said during an appearance on ABC’s “The View” on Wednesday while discussing the president’s subsequent tweets calling for smaller, separate relief bills.

Pelosi continued to say Trump abandoned a chance to “crush the virus” and reopen schools and businesses in a safe manner. She also noted that Trump tweeted that he would sign a bill to send out another round of $1,200 checks to families separate from a larger bill.

“It’s interesting that he said he’d send out those checks if we just sent him that bill, cause all he’s ever wanted in the negotiation was to send out a check with his name printed on it. Forget about the virus, forget about our heroes, forget about our children, and their need to go to school safely.”

She added, “So he’s just, again, rebounding from a terrible mistake that he made yesterday. And the Republicans in 🏛️Congress are going down the drain with him on that.”

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Ana Navarro, an anti-Trump Republican who co-hosted on Wednesday, asked Pelosi what she thought was causing the president to exhibit such “erratic behavior.”

“Well, I think it’s true to form. I think that the president has always had erratic behavior. Right now, it’s very, very dangerous because he knows the danger of the virus, but he’s in denial,” Pelosi said.

She continued, “I could never explain to you any rational, linear path of action on the part of the president. But I will say this, it is really important for us to come to this agreement when the president just popped off and made that announcement without even informing us that that was the case. He insulted the Constitution of the United States.”

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Pelosi’s comments come a day after Trump accused the House speaker of not negotiating in good faith and said he had instructed his team to stop negotiating on a new aid bill, as IJR reported.

Shortly after those tweets, Pelosi released a statement that accused Trump of “putting himself first at the expense of the country” and being “unwilling to crush the virus.”

The decision received poor reviews from pundits, Democrats, and Republicans who urged the president to reconsider his decision.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) urged the president in a tweet to consider a relief package crafted by the Problem Solvers Caucus in the House, which he said has “many good things for individuals and businesses.”

Prior to Trump’s announcement, Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had made some progress in negotiations. But after Trump’s tweets, White House aides said they did not have high hopes any relief bill will be passed soon.