Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) learned how to outsmart President Donald Trump on Tuesday, as MSNBC's "The Last Word" with Lawrence O'Donnell reported.
"I think the Democrats -- Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer -- have to reconsider all tactics in dealing with the president in these situations," O'Donnell advised.
"Why go into a circus?" he asked. "Discussion with a circus clown?"
However, he said, "if you are in a discussion with a circus clown in the Oval Office, for the first time in history, I think the -- what will be the Speaker of the House and the Senate Minority Leader, have to consider when they get up and leave."
"The power of them walking out on him is a power that at some point they might want to exercise," he added.
"Totally agree that all reconsideration of tactics is in order. I totally agree a different kind of counter-theater is in order," replied NBC News national affairs analyst John Heilemann replied.
"What was clear today is -- although they may not have done everything they could have done to unnerve Donald Trump -- that they did unnerve him," he observed. "What is clear is that psyops work with Donald Trump."
"He has a fragile psyche, a simple psyche, an easy-to-game-out psyche," he added.
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