Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi haven't spoken in five months, and some are worrying if their dysfunctional relationship is hindering the federal government's ability to combat the growing coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report from the Associated Press.
Trump is angry about the House's impeachment effort against him, and even unifying effect of a disease outbreak isn't thawing the ice between the two. "Trump and Pelosi communicated with — or at — each other via Twitter and television or through intermediaries the other side could tolerate," writes the Associated Press. "Chief among them has been Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who personally negotiated the three rescue bills passed so far. When Trump signed the package at the White House, he did not invite Pelosi or any other Democrats to join him."
According to the Associated Press, Trump has told aides and confidants "he feels as if Pelosi has tried to undermine and humiliate him at every turn and he will never forgive her for impeachment, according to two White House aides and Republicans close to the West Wing."
With a record 6.6 million people filing for unemployment, a fresh urgency has been added to calls for another stimulus bill -- a process that Pelosi suggested she'll be involved in with minimal communication with Trump.
“Whatever communications we need to move forward, that will be happening whether I talk to the president or not,” Pelosi said. “It’s not casual. It isn’t, ‘Let’s just chat.’ It’s about what is the purpose, what is the urgency, does it require the time of the speaker and the president, both of whom are very busy people.”
Speaking to the Associated Press, Rep. Ben McAdams (D-UT) suggested that the American people might not have the patience for all the partisan bickering during such uncertain times.
“There’s no space for politics,” McAdams of Utah, who is recovering from the coronavirus, said. “Really, we have to come together and work together to save lives, and that is the only thing that matters right now.”
Read the full report over at the Associated Press.