Nancy Pelosi was upset, but holding it in. Donald Trump was in a good mood, and letting it out.

“I think we’ll get things done,” Trump told her.

Pelosi is expecting a lot of somethings by the end of the year, including Trump doing what she wants—and what she thinks the situation will force him to do—on the debt ceiling, the budget and the Dreamers. Even as she slammed the president in October for pulling the federal government’s Obamacare subsidies, among other things, she is confident she can get him where she wants.

Trump agreed. Pelosi and Schumer walked out with a handshake on their opening bid, to make a deal for three months instead of 18—forcing the Republicans to confront the mess again in December—and without any concessions. Republicans were aghast. Democrats were confused, unaccustomed to the idea that they could win anymore. And the groundwork was laid for another dinner the following week, when the two Democratic leaders went over to the White House for Chinese food, and again walked out claiming victory, this time to preserve protections for Dreamers, immigrants brought to the United States illegally as minors. (The White House initially denied the deal, though the president himself later backed it up.)

The media coverage in those two weeks was ecstatic, and the president, of course, was paying close attention. The morning after the debt ceiling deal, he called Pelosi to gloat about how great it looked on TV. “You and Chuck are getting raves,” Trump said. “I would say your other two friends aren’t doing as well as you,” he added, referring to the congressional leadership in Trump’s own party, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Soon afterward, Pelosi became maybe the only person in history who can rightfully claim to have controlled Trump’s Twitter feed: On her suggestion, she said, Trump tapped out a reassurance to Dreamers that they shouldn’t fear being deported. (White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not respond to several emails for this story, or a request for the president to share his own thoughts about Pelosi.)

https://www.politico.com/magazine/st...re-2017-215759

"Republicans can talk to themselves in the mirror all they want, but the fact is the vote is the currency of the realm and Republicans frequently find themselves holding an empty wallet."

- From Nancy Pelosi's Office regarding GOPs stance on no DACA fix on spending bill