'He was insulting': Democratic leaders stomp out of White House meeting with Trump on Syria
Syria,Donald Trump,Nancy Pelosi,Chuck Schumer,White House,Politics
Congressional Democratic leaders walked out of a Wednesday meeting with President Trump on Syria policy after Trump allegedly insulted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"He was insulting, particularly to the speaker ... He called her a third-rate politician," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on the White House driveway.
Schumer accused Trump of delivering a "nasty diatribe" when defending his decision this month to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, which resulted in a Turkish attack on formerly U.S.-allied Kurds.
The meeting occurred moments after the House voted 354-60 to rebuke Trump's withdrawal of troops.
"He said there are communists involved and you guys might like that," Schumer recounted.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, said she witnessed Trump in "a meltdown, sad to say."
"Yes, we walked out," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy attacked Pelosi in subsequent comments to reporters, telling them he found her decision to leave the meeting "unbecoming" and not the way "a speaker should carry herself."
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