January 17, 2019

Trump Strikes Back at Pelosi by Saying He’s Canceled Her Foreign Travel

The president suggested the House speaker fly commercial to Afghanistan instead.

ZUMA

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President Donald Trump struck back at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recommendation to reschedule his State of the Union address until after the government has reopened, claiming in a letter on Thursday that he has postponed Pelosi’s upcoming travel to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan—foreign visits he derisively referred to as “public relations” events.

“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 in the letter, which was first tweeted by press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “I also feel that, during this period, it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the Shutdown.”

The retaliatory move by the president came less than an hour before Pelosi had reportedly planned to leave for her trip. Prior to Trump’s letter, Pelosi’s trip had reportedly been kept a secret out of security concerns.

If Pelosi hoped to keep her foreign travel commitments, the president, in typical Trump-trolling fashion, suggested she fly commercial.

Trump, who presumably denied Pelosi’s use of a military plane, did not intend to cancel upcoming travel for his Cabinet members attending the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, White House aides confirmed. His letter also did not respond directly to Pelosi’s initial suggestion that he postpone his State of the Union address, originally scheduled for January 29.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

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