Trump continues to block pandemic relief package
as shutdown looms
The president indicated he may veto the 5,000-page
bill that he calls a ‘disgrace’ which would extend benefits to Americans
Miranda
Bryant
Sat 26 Dec
2020 16.36 GMT
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/26/tump-us-coronavirus-relief-package-shutdown
As
unemployment benefits were due to expire for millions of Americans on Saturday,
Donald Trump, who spent Christmas playing golf in Florida, continued to block a
$900bn pandemic relief bill that would extend them.
The
package, which Congress passed with bipartisan support on Monday after months
of negotiations, would keep unemployment benefits in place until March and
expand state benefits by $300 a week – as well as extending an evictions
moratorium, providing federal loans to small businesses and $600 direct
payments to many Americans.
But without
Trump’s signature, the entire package – set to be the second biggest in US
history – is stalled and the US government now faces a shutdown on Tuesday.
“I simply
want to get our great people $2,000, rather than the measly $600 that is now in
the bill. Also, stop the billions of dollars in ‘pork’”, he tweeted on Saturday
morning.
It comes
after he indicated on Tuesday that he might veto the bill, describing it as a
“disgrace”.
Larry
Sabato, director of the Centre for Politics at the University of Virginia, said
Trump’s motivation for increasing the payments to $2,000 is “so he looks good”.
“And maybe
he sees this as the crowning achievement as he leaves office, where he is
defeating Congress and his own party,” he added. “He’s probably more resentful
toward members of his own party than he is the Democrats … He’s a hurt creature
and he’s going to make all the other creatures hurt.”
With the
support of senator Lindsey Graham, he said Republicans could yet be swayed to
vote for a bill including $2,000 payments, at which point Trump will “claim a
great victory”.
He added:
“I think he actually now believes his own lies about the election. It was
stolen because he has said it so many times.”
But with
the eviction moratorium due to expire on 31 December he said any deal will have
to be done this week.
“Hundreds
of thousands of people who could lose the roof over their head if they don’t
get this eviction prohibition. There are just so many pieces to this that are
damaging. But of course, Trump will blame it all on Congress and his followers
will then attack Congress, not realising it all comes down to Donald Trump.”
The
5,000-page bill was reportedly flown to Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach club, on
Christmas Eve.
On
Christmas Day he was pictured playing golf – his 309th visit to one of his golf
courses of his presidency – despite having vowed to be “working tirelessly”
over the festive period. On Saturday morning the bill remained unsigned.
As the
country continued to reel from the surging pandemic, and amid an explosion in
Nashville, he also took time to enter a debate over the first lady’s legacy,
responding to a Christmas Day tweet by Breitbart News accusing “elitist snobs
in the fashion press” of not featuring Melania Trump on their covers for four
years.
“The
greatest of all time. Fake News!” he tweeted.
Around 24
hours after Congress passed the bill, Trump released a surprise video in which
he criticised the bill and called for direct payments to be raised to $2,000
per adult – despite his own party opposing it – and denounced spending on
foreign aid and arts venues.
“Made many
calls and had meetings at Trump International in Palm Beach, Florida,” he
tweeted on Friday. “Why would politicians not want to give people $2,000,
rather than only $600? It wasn’t their fault, it was China. Give our people the
money!”
Following
his loss to president-elect Joe Biden in November, an election in which he has
still not conceded, Trump appears even more willing to oppose his own party and
its leadership.
After
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell acknowledged Biden’s win after the Electoral
College vote, Trump had an email sent to Republicans hitting out at the Senate
majority leader.
A graphic
attached to the email reportedly showed a timeline of McConnell’s polling
numbers and said: “Sadly, Mitch forgot. He was the first one off the ship!”
On
Christmas Day, Trump was joined on the golf course by Graham who, having
previously been supportive of the relief package, subsequently appeared to
change his mind.
“After
spending some time with President @realDonaldTrump today, I am convinced he is
more determined than ever to increase stimulus payments to $2,000 per person
and challenge Section 230 big tech liability protection,” he tweeted.
“Both are
reasonable demands, and I hope Congress is listening. The biggest winner would
be the American people.”
But with
insufficient support for $2,000 payments – an attempt was blocked by
Republicans on Thursday – a solution to the relief bill is unclear.
Previously
Trump has made his annual address to overseas service members public and
attended evening mass on Christmas Eve at Bethesda-by-the-Sea, near Mar-a-Lago,
but this year he has kept to his club or golf course, refraining from inviting
the press to his speech and did not comment on the Christmas Day explosion in
Nashville though he was reportedly briefed on it.
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