Page 3 - ARUBA TODAY

A3
U.S. NEWS Monday 9 March 2020

$15

$85

Trump to skip St. Patrick's Day Hill luncheon, blames Pelosi

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE rhetoric, the president will never been stronger.
Associated Press not participate in moments "One would think that the
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) where she so often chooses White House could set pet-
— Irish eyes at the U.S. Cap- to drive discord and disuni- ty, partisan politics aside
itol will not smile on Presi- ty," spokesman Judd Deere for this historic occasion,"
dent Donald Trump on St. said in an emailed state- Hammill said in an email.
Patrick's Day. ment. The lunch became an an-
Trump is skipping an annual The House speaker tradi- nual event on Capitol Hill in
bipartisan luncheon with tionally hosts the luncheon. 1987, missed by presidents
House and Senate lawmak- Trump instead will cele- just four times since then.
ers celebrating the ties that brate with Irish Prime Min- Bill Clinton sent regrets after
bind the U.S. and Ireland, ister Leo Varadkar at the having knee surgery two
a White House spokesman White House on Thursday days before St. Patrick's
said. — five days before St. Pat- Day in 1997. George W.
Trump blamed House rick's Day. Bush passed on the 2003
Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Drew Hammill, a spokes- lunch, held days before the President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting about the
"Since the speaker has cho- man for Pelosi, said con- U.S. invasion of Iraq. coronavirus at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
sen to tear this nation apart gressional support for the Politico first reported Friday, March 6, 2020, in Atlanta.
with her actions and her U.S.-Ireland relationship has Trump's decision.q Associated Press