Trump to skip annual bipartisan St. Patrick’s Day lunch, blaming Pelosi

President Trump will not attend the annual bipartisan St. Patrick’s Day lunch Thursday on Capitol Hill, and White House spokesman Judd Deere said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is the reason.

“Since the Speaker has chosen to tear this Nation apart with her actions and her rhetoric, the President will not participate in moments where she so often chooses to drive discord and disunity, and will instead celebrate the rich history and strong ties between the United States and Ireland at the White House on March 12,” Deere said.

“The relationship between our two countries has never been stronger, and the President looks forward to welcoming the Prime Minister of Ireland for the annual Shamrock Bowl presentation.”

Pelosi famously ripped up her copy of Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address back in February.

Pelosi's Deputy Chief of Staff Drew Hammill criticized Trump: “There has never been stronger support in the Congress and in the country for the U.S.-Ireland bilateral relationship. One would think that the White House could set petty, partisan politics aside for this historic occasion.”

The event is traditionally hosted each year by the House Speaker and this will be the first time President Trump misses it. He attended in 2017, 2018 and 2019 according to AP.

Politico, which first reported the news, noted that the last time a president did not attend the event was when George W. Bush skipped it in 2003, days prior to the Iraq invasion.

The outlet also reported that on the four previous occasions when presidents skipped the event, their vice president attended, but Mike Pence is not slated to attend the lunch this week.