Trump Dressed Down Mulvaney in Front of Congressional Leaders

Mick Mulvaney

Apparently, President Trump's chief-of-staff, Mick Mulvaney, didn't understand that Trump style negotiating means you never agree to split the difference.

Trump chastised his new chief of staff over his comments during shutdown talks, creating an awkward scene in front of congressional leaders of both parties, reports Axios.

The encounter came near the end of a meeting in the White House Situation Room on Jan. 4, according to Axios sources. Trump had spent the meeting restating his demand for $5.7 billion for his wall.

Mulvaney inserted himself into the conversation and tried to negotiate a compromise sum of money.

Mulvaney said "that if Dems weren't OK with $5.7 [billion] and the president wasn't OK with $1.3 [the Democratic offer] ... he was trying to say we should find a middle ground," one of the sources told Axios, paraphrasing Mulvaney's remarks.

"Trump cut him off ... 'You just fucked it all up, Mick,'" the source recalled Trump saying.

-RW