With Nancy Pelosi telling the President he is not welcome on the House floor to give the State of the Union while the government is partially closed, President Trump originally suggested he would go elsewhere.
But now President Trump is announcing he will postpone the State of the Union address until the government reopens.
As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
….alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a “great” State of the Union Address in the near future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
This is, in a sense, the President letting Nancy Pelosi dictate terms to him about one of his own constitutional obligations.
Consequently, the President really must now win the shutdown fight. Pelosi says that if Trump gets his way with this, it would be signaling he can shut down the government whenever he wants something. That is a fair point. But considering the President has made a significant compromise and is offering up a lot of what Democrats have long wanted, the Democrats should compromise with him.
To both abandon the State of the Union because Pelosi says so and abandon his wall because Pelosi says so would mean the President is not a master negotiator, but someone who can be bullied by a San Francisco liberal. That would bode terribly for a battle against Kamala Harris.
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Erick Erickson is Editor of The Resurgent and host of the Erick Erickson Show on WSB Radio. He has been both a CNN and Fox News contributor and appears regularly on NBC News’ Meet the Press and HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher. Erick is a lawyer by training and is working on a degree in theology. He lives in Macon, GA with his wife and children. For speaking engagements, please contact Premiere Speakers Bureau.