Amid a long line of entanglements between President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the political rivals will not be breaking bread with each other in the St. Patrick's Day lunch this Thursday.
Trump is skipping the annual bipartisan tradition, according to Politico Playbook.
"Since the Speaker has chosen to tear this Nation apart with her actions and her rhetoric, the president will not participate in moments where she so often chooses to drive discord and disunity, and will instead celebrate the rich history and strong ties between the United States and Ireland at the White House on March 12," White House spokesman Judd Deere said, per the report.
"The relationship between our two countries has never been stronger, and the president looks forward to welcoming the Prime Minister of Ireland for the annual Shamrock Bowl presentation."
The last time a president did not attend was ex-President George W. Bush, who skipped days before the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
"There has never been stronger support in the Congress and in the country for the U.S.-Ireland bilateral relationship," Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill told Politico. "One would think that the White House could set petty, partisan politics aside for this historic occasion."
The House Speaker hosts the lunch, but Trump and Pelosi have reached new lows in their relationship after the House Democrats' party-line impeachment attempt. Pelosi, rejecting the fact the GOP-held Senate would ultimately acquit the president, tore up the president's State of the Union address right behind him at its conclusion.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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