Trump Says He May Send New NAFTA to Congress Without House Speaker Pelosi's Assent
President Donald Trump, in a freewheeling press conference May 23, accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of not understanding the NAFTA rewrite, and called her crazy because of the hand gestures she made during a press conference earlier that day. "I don’t think Nancy Pelosi understands the deal. It's too complicated. But it's not a complicated deal. It's actually not a complicated deal," he said. "It's a deal that's going to be many, many times better than NAFTA."
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Trump noted that back when he was a builder, he told the press he was against NAFTA. "I would get a lot of publicity, and without a lot of trying," he bragged. "I was against at that time. And I’m still against. I haven’t changed very much. I’ve been very consistent. I’m an extremely stable genius."
Trump said officials at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have waited to send a draft implementing bill to the House because "they sort of feel she's disintegrating before their eyes." On Pelosi, he continued, "so she's got to get up to snuff, learn the bill. And, by the way, I think she wants to approve it -- I think. But, so [USTR] Bob Lighthizer, who you can speak to you if you want, he's waiting to get the okay from her to send it in. But we're at a point where we're just going to have to send it in. It's all ready." Trump said Pelosi had asked for two weeks, which he said was "a long time."
The president claimed farmers, manufacturers and unions all want it -- in fact, the AFL-CIO wants changes to it, but the union federation's president has signaled that it's still better than the current NAFTA.
Trump said of Pelosi: "I tell you what: I've been watching her, and I have been watching her for a long period of time. She's not the same person. She's lost it."
Pelosi, quoting the "she's lost it" line from Trump, tweeted: "When the “extremely stable genius” starts acting more presidential, I’ll be happy to work with him on infrastructure, trade and other issues."
Trump also talked about the $16 billion in aid to farmers, justifying taking money from importers and sending it to farmers because China targeted farmers in rural states that voted for him in the election. "I think things, probably, are going to happen with China fast because I can't imagine that they can be thrilled with thousands of companies leaving their shores for other places."
He told a reporter there's "a pretty good possibility" China and the U.S. will reach a trade deal within the next two months. He said it's possible that modifying the export ban on telecommunications equipment manufacturer Huawei would be included in a trade deal. A reporter asked how that would be designed, and Trump said, "it's too early to say."