2018 Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi Oval Office Meeting

Overview

The 2018 Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Charles Schumer and Nancy Pelosi Oval Office Meeting occurred on December 11th, 2018. During the meeting, President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence met with Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles "Chuck" Schumer to discuss a variety of issues, including immigration, Trump's proposed border wall and a potential government shutdown. Many online, remarked on the barbed responses from Schumer and Pelosi in response to Trump's requests.

Background

On December 11th, 2018, Trump and Pence met with Schumer and Pelosi ahead of the first Congress of the first divided government of Trump's presidency. Prior to the meeting, Republicans held the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. With the Democrats newly-won majority in the 2018 Midterm Elections, Democrats now control the House of Representatives.

During the meeting, the four discussed a variety of issues, focusing primarily on immigration and a potential government shutdown, Democrats Pelosi and Schumer confronted Trump several times, regarding incorrect and false statements on immigration, financing and legislation. They informed him that with Democratic control of the House, he would be unable to finance the $5 billion needed for his border wall. Trump erupted at one point saying "I am proud to shut down the government for border security. I will take the mantle. I will be the one to shut it down."

The meeting, as Pelosi said, "spiraled downward."

Following the meeting, Pelosi reportedly told her staff, "[The border wall is] like a manhood thing for him. As if manhood could ever be associated with him."^[1]

Developments

Online Reaction

Many online, particularly supporters of Democratic legislation, applauded the meeting as one of the first times a member of Congress stood up to Trump. In one of the most remarked upon moments, Schumer refuted Trump's boasts that the Republicans won the Senate. Schumer said, "When the president brags he won North Dakota and Indiana, he’s in real trouble." Twitter user @youngsinick tweeted a video of the exchange with the comment, "This is a [Real] Housewives reunion," referring to the reality television series. The post received more than 2,100 retweets and 7,800 likes in 24 hours (shown below).

Others compared Schumer's response to other examples of U Mad, including the origin. Twitter^[2] user @ScottWamplerBMD tweeted, "Chuck Schumer is 100% pulling a Cam'ron on Trump's Bill O'Reilly and I am fucking here for it." Twitter^[3] user @ShawnReynolds_ compared the smirk to Jim from the television series The Office.

Others remarked on Vice President Pence's silence throughout the meeting. Twitter user @Senfeld2000 posted a variation of the Curb Your Enthusiasm Theme Remix that focused on Pence. The post received more than 2,000 retweets and 8,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below).

pence your enthusiasm pic.twitter.com/r1RSdHS5q4

— Seinfeld Current Day (@Seinfeld2000) December 11, 2018

That evening, Pence's silence was parodied on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The post received more than 23,000 reactions, 2,600 comments and 11,000 shares on Facebook (shown below).

That day, Redditor ^[4] Antinatalista posted about the confrontation in the /r/politics subreddit. The post received more than 13,000 points (95% upvoted) and 1,800 comments in 24 hours. The following day, Redditor ^[5] ONE-OF-THREE posted in the /r/politics subreddit that "Reporter says Trump 'stormed out' of Oval Office after Pelosi, Schumer meeting." The post received more than 50,000 points (81% upvoted) and 5,500 comments in 24 hours.

Pelosi Leaving Meeting

Follwing the meeting, a photograph of Nancy Pelosi in a red jacket and black sunglasses leaving the White House went viral. Those sharing the image commented on her confident demanour, exiting a highly contentious meeting. Twitter^[11] user @KristinSusanL commented on the photograph with a Thank u, Next, a reference to the song by recording artist Ariana Grande.

Others photoshopped the image, adding fire effects to the White House, indicating the opinion that she dominated the meeting (examples below).

According to CNN,^[12] the jacket that Pelosi wore in the photograph was so popular that the coat's designer, Max Mara, has decided to re-release it. The company last sold the read "GLAMIS" coat in 2013. They wrote, "A re-issue is a rarity in fashion, and typically occurs with iconic pieces -- assuming this coat now falls into the category of icon. Examples of sartorial re-instatements include Versace's re-imagining of the label's 1990's prints and patterns into its 2017 and 2018 collections, and J. Crew's re-issue of its roll-neck sweater, a staple from 20 years ago."

Media Coverage

Virtually every major media outlet covered the meeting, including The Washington Post,^[1] The New York Times,^[6] The Hill,^[7] Vox,^[8] Fox News, ^[9] Uproxx^[10] and more.

Search Interest

External References