Trump ditches one-on-one meetings with vice president: report – By Zack Budryk (The Hill) / April 15 2019
President Trump has largely abandoned the tradition of one-on-one lunches with the vice president, according to The Atlantic.
Instead, Trump reportedly invites aides to lunch meetings with Vice President Pence.
During those meetings, a big-screen television is tuned to cable news, according to the news outlet, which added that Trump frequently yells at the TV and will break from the lunch to discuss a response with aides if he sees something on screen that angers him.
Trump often brings up Pence’s endorsement of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in the 2016 Indiana primary, The Atlantic, citing unidentified sources, added, noting that the president has told Pence he is in Trump’s debt for sparing him a reelection fight for Indiana’s governorship.
“I had the most valuable endorsement: [former Indiana University basketball coach] Bobby Knight,” Trump said at a 2017 White House dinner, a person in the room told the news outlet. “I won the primary. And now look where you are, Mike.”
The one-on-one meeting format has historically been viewed as a way to strengthen the relationship between the president and vice president and prevent leaks, according to The Atlantic.
As early as June 2017, aides have claimed Trump yelled at TV sets displaying coverage of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
