Trump cancels Pelosi's overseas trip after she suggests postponing the State of the Union

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published 17 January 2019

President Trump has announced the postponement of an upcoming event, but not the one House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had in mind.

Trump said in a letter to Pelosi Thursday afternoon that an upcoming, previously-unannounced trip she had planned to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan, is off. This comes one day after Pelosi wrote a letter to Trump suggesting he delay the State of the Union. "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," Trump wrote to Pelosi.

While Trump doesn't actually mention the State of the Union in his letter, it's hard not to see this as a direct response to that seeing as Pelosi's rationale for postponing Trump's address was that it should not take place as long as the government is shut down. Trump told Pelosi that she's welcome to still go on the trip if she doesn't use military aircraft, writing, "Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative." Fox News' John Roberts reports that Trump's letter to Pelosi was delivered not long before she was set to leave.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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