During Donald Trump’s first term, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) led the effort to have Donald Trump removed from office via impeachment.
Since then, she has given up her party leadership position, at least publicly (I firmly believe she still calls the shots behind the scenes), and she just made an announcement that will stun most Democrats.
Amid a push by some liberals in the House to impeach Trump, Pelosi says the president has done nothing so far that warrants impeachment.
Pelosi was Enemy #1 for Trump during his first term. She mocked him, publicly criticized him, and yes, announced a formal impeachment inquiry against him.
At the time, she stated, “The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution.”
She went on to say that Trump’s actions revealed a “betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections.”
Trump wound up facing impeachment twice in the House, but the efforts to oust him from office failed in the Senate, although there were a handful of Republicans who voted with Democrats, just not enough to convict him in the Senate hearing.
Several Democrats have already tried to get an impeachment effort going against Trump in his second term, but the latest one showed the sharp divide that exists within the Democrat Party on this front.
Rep. Al Green (D-TX) led the latest effort to impeach Trump, and it was soundly defeated.
A total of 23 Democrats voted against the resolution, and there were numerous “present” votes as well.
The effort even drew a bit of a rebuke from Democrat Party leadership, claiming that the effort had been rushed. In reality, Democrats knew they did not have the numbers to get the impeachment articles through, so they are likely holding out for a more serious effort if Democrats take the House back in the 2026 cycle.
Pelosi was recently interviewed to discuss impeachment efforts, past and present. She stated, "The person most responsible for impeaching President Trump when I was speaker was President Trump. He gave us no choice. He crossed the line in his telephone call with President Zelenskyy as one manifestation of his disrespect for the Constitution, his jeopardizing the sanctity of our own elections in our country, and the rest."
When asked about a possible impeachment during Trump’s second term, she responded, "If he crosses the border again. But that’s not an incidental thing. You say, 'We’re going to do that.' No, there has to be cause. There has to be reason. We had review. This was a very serious, historic thing."
Pelosi continued, "And our founders knew that there could be a rogue president, and that’s why they put impeachment in the Constitution. They didn’t know there’d be a rogue president at the same time a rogue Senate that didn’t have the courage to do the right thing. It was bipartisan in the Senate, but it wasn’t enough."
This is a rather considerable blow to Green and his attempt, but it also lays the groundwork of a potential defense strategy for Republicans and the administration, should Dems go after Trump if they regain control of the House. It would not help Trump legally, but in terms of public appearance, a time stamp on that interview could work wonders in the court of public perception.
