BORDER/CHINA/DEMS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “As the partial government shutdown enters Day 20 with no compromise in sight, President Donald Trump said on Thursday [1-10-19] that dealing with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is more frustrating that negotiating with China — a country Trump has described as America’s economic adversary…Trump made the comments at the White House after assuring reporters he would not attend the economic conference in Davos, Switzerland, later this month if the government were still shut down. Trump said he would forgo the conference even though the U.S. has ‘a great story to tell,’ including low unemployment and ‘tremendous success with China.’ Schumer and Pelosi had a dramatic meeting with Trump at the White House on Wednesday [1-19-19], in which neither side yielded on Trump’s demands for more than $5 billion for a border wall with Mexico. Schumer said Trump lost his temper during the meeting, pounding on the table. Trump said he kept his composure and, on hearing Democrats would not give the money for the wall, told Schumer and Pelosi, ‘bye-bye.'”
–Matthew Choi, “Trump: China is easier to deal with than Pelosi and Schumer,” Politico, January 10, 2019 12:12 pm