Democrat leaders cancel crucial meeting with Trump after he attacks them on Twitter beforehand

The President suggested he didn't see a deal with Democrats over spending legislation

Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi participate in a news conference (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (Getty)

Democratic leaders in Congress have abruptly pulled out of a planned meeting with President Donald Trump after he attacked them on Twitter.

The president tweeted "I don't see a deal!" with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi - referring to a push to avoid a government shutdown by coming to an agreement on spending legislation with support from Democrats.

"Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes," Mr Trump said.

Mr Schumer and Ms Pelosi were scheduled to head to the White House on Tuesday along with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

But rather than participate in a "show meeting" with Mr Trump, Mr Schumer and Ms Pelosi said in a joint statement, they would prefer to meet with Republican congressional leaders alone.

"Given that the President doesn't see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead," Mr Schumer and Ms Pelosi said in a joint statement. "Rather than going to the White House for a show meeting that won't result in an agreement, we've asked Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan to meet this afternoon."

They continued: "We don't have any time to waste in addressing the issues that confront us, so we're going to negotiate with Republican leaders who may be interested in reaching a bipartisan agreement."

The White House has said Mr Trump will still meet with Mr Ryan and Mr McConnell and has encouraged the Democratic leaders to attend.

"It’s disappointing that Senator Schumer and Leader Pelosi are refusing to come to the table and discuss urgent issues," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. "The President’s invitation to the Democrat leaders still stands and he encourages them to put aside their pettiness, stop the political grandstanding, show up and get to work. These issues are too important."

She added: "The meeting will proceed as scheduled with Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell and administration officials who are committed to getting things done. If the Democrats believe the American people deserve action on these critical year-end issues as we do, they should attend."

Mr McConnell appeared unhappy with his colleagues' decision.

"I never refused to go to a meeting that President Obama called, a bipartisan meeting," Mr McConnell told reporters. "It never occurred to me that I could just say to President Obama ‘I’m not showing up.’ That strikes me as a lack of seriousness about the matter before us, which is the funding of the federal government of the United States for the rest of this fiscal year."

But the majority leader's claim he never refused to attend such a meeting under Mr Trump's predecessor is not entirely accurate.

In 2010, House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer criticised Mr McConnell for saying he was too busy to accept a bipartisan meeting with Mr Obama and Democratic leaders, according to the Wall Street Journal. A spokesperson for Mr McConnell said at the time that the White House made the mistake of announcing the meeting before checking to see if the leader was available for it.

Mr Schumer's and Ms Pelosi's announcement has increased the already high tensions between Mr Trump and top Democrats. But just a few months ago, the President seemed on the verge of having a productive relationship with members of his rival political party.

The last time he sat down with the top leaders, Mr Trump abruptly sided with Democrats on a plan to provide hurricane disaster relief, increase the debt limit and fund the government until 15 December – a move that went against the wishes of many Republicans.