Donald Trump simply doesn't know how to deal with a strong and smart woman. Throughout his business career, he has had money and an army of lawyers, and he's been able to bully and intimidate any woman who dared to question him. He thought he could repeat that same misogynistic behavior into the political world, and he is now learning that is just not going to happen. He has come up against a strong woman in Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- and she is smarter than him and understands politics better.
Yesterday, He thought he could intimidate Speaker Pelosi. He sent her a letter saying, despite her wishes, he was going to give his State of the Union speech in the House of Representatives on January 29th. How could she disagree, since he was a man (and president of the most powerful nation on Earth).
But Speaker Pelosi wasn't having any of his bullying. About an hour later, she responded with her own letter. She made it clear that, until the government was opened, he was not welcome in the House of Representatives.
Only members of Congress can enter the House of Representatives without permission. And for a president to give a speech in the House, he must be invited to do so by a majority vote of the House. Pelosi made it clear in her letter that no such vote would take place until the government has been fully reopened.
Trump can give his SOTU in writing, or televised from the Oval Office, or at one of his rallies, but he is NOT going to give it from the House of Representatives until the government is opened. Speaker Pelosi has spoken, and that's just the way it is.
