Trump is canceling his formal meetings at the G-20 as it is clear that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has the president rattled.
It is chaos on Air Force One, as Trump is canceling his formal meetings.
According to the White House Pool Report as provided to PoliticusUSA:
Shortly after take-off at 11.50am, Sarah Sanders came back with a few more details on the cancellation of the Trump-Putin bilateral (the pool wires were able to transmit this from plane — a wire call — but your pooler was only able to do this later).
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Asked when Trump took his decision, Sanders confirmed that it was aboard AF1 where he conferred in person with Chief of Staff Kelly and Secretary of State Pompeo and also by phone with National Security Advisor Bolton who is in Brazil.
“It’s just happened in the last half hour,” Sanders said.
Asked how Putin was informed about the cancellation, she said she was “not aware” of a phone call between the two leaders.
“There was some back and forth” through other channels, she said without elaborating.
Separately she confirmed there would be a trilateral on towards the end of the Trump/Abe talks with Indian PM Modi.
She said other meetings, mentioning Erdogan specifically, will be pull-asides not formal bilaterals.
There is no reason for these meetings to be canceled other than when Trump is depressed, like in France after the midterm election, Trump shuts himself into his bedroom and blows off the presidency.
The Michael Cohen news in the Mueller investigation clearly has Trump rattled. The incoming chair of the House Judiciary Committee said that Mueller is closing in on Trump. The president has been tweeting about the Special Counsel non-stop for days. Trump knows that the potential end is near, ao he is not even trying to do his job as president.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
