Chuck Schumer said the dramatic moment unfolded after Trump referred to Pelosi as a "third-rate politician."
ADVERTISEMENTWASHINGTON — Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday angrily walked out of a White House meeting with President Donald Trump after he had a "meltdown," according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"What we witnessed on the part of the president was a meltdown. Sad to say," Pelosi told reporters outside the White House with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Schumer said the dramatic moment unfolded after Trump referred to Pelosi as a "third-rate politician."
The meeting was about the president's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, paving the way for Turkey to invade the area. Ahead of the meeting, the House overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution rebuking the Trump's decision to pull troops out.
"I think that vote, the size of the vote — more than 2 to 1 of the Republicans voted to oppose what the president did — it probably got to the president, because he was shaken up by it," Pelosi said. "That's why we couldn't continue in the meeting because he was just not relating to the reality of it."