President Donald Trump is receiving bipartisan criticism for his decision to stop negotiating a new coronavirus relief bill.
And some are questioning the wisdom of the decision this close to the election — which polls show the president is currently losing.
Trump announced in a series of tweets that he was directing his representatives to stop negotiating with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on a new COVID-19 relief bill, as IJR reported.
Shortly after his tweet, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged almost 400 points.
U.S. stocks fall lower after Trump says he's stopping stimulus talks until after the election https://t.co/UwuIHPHy3W pic.twitter.com/wKAzvhU0AF
— Bloomberg (@business) October 6, 2020
Twitter users quickly shared their reactions to the news:
https://twitter.com/kathrynw5/status/1313555577990045697
I truly don't understand this, and nor do a number of people who advise the president. It's like he's trying to lose. https://t.co/GNOwrZEhx9
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) October 6, 2020
Trump is ending stimulus talks saying he'll deal with it after the election and wants McConnell to focus on SCOTUS instead, effectively handing Democrats the talking point they've been signaling for days. https://t.co/u2uevljTrk
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/RepJohnKatko/status/1313570932234031106
What an anti-everybody agenda looks like:
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 6, 2020
The President & GOP are walking away from getting ANY COVID stimulus relief done, effectively endangering millions, after *they* themselves got COVID & enjoyed free socialized healthcare, so they can push through an anti-ACA SCOTUS pick. https://t.co/zIidL1d6Rr
Wait, what now? https://t.co/GWKaHhg5BN
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 6, 2020
Trump’s closing argument:
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) October 6, 2020
I will do nothing to stop the virus that’s killed more than 200,000 Americans, and I will do nothing to fix a recession that’s led to double-digit unemployment.
Wait, so Trump not only rejects stimulus funds that would probably have helped his re-election chances, but *also* does so in a way to make sure that he personally will take blame for it?
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) October 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/alexsalvinews/status/1313557589729316864
https://twitter.com/esaagar/status/1313552879035265024
Call me crazy, but I think someone should tell him that he needs some of those Democratic states to vote for him or he can't win the Electoral College. https://t.co/QWCcOz9r0b
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) October 6, 2020
I cannot believe that he is letting the Kudlow/McConnell establishment that he dispatched in the primary talk him into this. A massive unforced error. 2016 Trump would've said make it 3 trillion and put my face on the checks. https://t.co/aCsv4B8dc3
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) October 6, 2020
Starting to consider the possibility that Trump may not be very good at this. https://t.co/kk6qYXvZNk
— Charlie Sykes (@SykesCharlie) October 6, 2020
if Trump was trying to lose, what would he be doing differently? https://t.co/Ew4u0yZhKE
— Siraj Hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) October 6, 2020
In a tweet on Tuesday afternoon, Trump said, “Nancy Pelosi is asking for $2.4 Trillion Dollars to bailout poorly run, high crime, Democrat States, money that is in no way related to COVID-19. We made a very generous offer of $1.6 Trillion Dollars and, as usual, she is not negotiating in good faith.”
“I am rejecting their request, and looking to the future of our Country. I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business,” he added.
Shortly after his tweet, Pelosi accused the president of “putting himself first at the expense of the country, with the full complicity of the GOP Members of Congress.”
She also claimed the White House is in “complete disarray.”