White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sarah Elizabeth SandersSarah Sanders on Trump's reported war dead criticism: 'Those comments didn't happen' Sarah Sanders memoir reportedly says Trump joked she should hook up with Kim Jong Un McEnany stamps her brand on White House press operation MORE Sanders said Thursday that President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE’s abrupt departure from a meeting with congressional leaders and subsequent Rose Garden speech weren’t planned.

Trump “absolutely” intended to stay for the White House meeting about infrastructure, which is what “yesterday was supposed to be about,” Sanders said on CNN’s “New Day.”

“That was what yesterday was supposed to be about until Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE had a closed-door meeting to talk about the impeachment of the president, which is ludicrous on so many fronts,” Sanders said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Trump’s speech came as a response Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) claim that Trump “engaged in a cover-up,” which she said minutes before heading to the White House.

But the president’s trip to the Rose Garden appeared to be planned, with many pointing to the printed placard — which read “No Collusion No Obstruction” with statistics attacking special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election — on Trump’s podium minutes after the walkout.

“The placard had been printed weeks ago,” Sanders said on Thursday morning, “so it’s not like this was some new talking point or some new moment. That’s something we’ve been talking about since the end of the Mueller report,” she said.

A White House official said Wednesday that there was no long-standing plan to ambush Democrats and that the “catalyst” for Trump’s walkout was Pelosi’s comments.

Sanders added that “it’s time for Democrats to get on board” with the report’s findings and stop pushing to investigate the administration.

“They don’t get to do a do-over because they didn’t like the outcome,” Sanders said on “New Day.” “That’s like me telling my kids, ‘I’m sorry you didn’t win your soccer game, but that’s OK, we’ll just play it over.’ That’s not how life works.”