House Speaker Nancy Pelosi argued efforts to impeach President Trump could end up helping him more than hurting him.
“You’re wasting your time, unless the evidence is so conclusive that the Republicans will understand,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told USA Today this week. “Otherwise, it’s a gift to the president. We take our eye off the ball.”
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Polls showed former President Clinton’s popularity increased after he was impeached by the House in 1998. Republicans lost House seats the next election.
Instead of focusing on impeachment, which some Democrats have pushed since the president was elected, Pelosi said the party should pass legislation they campaigned on, such as healthcare.
The Democratic leader has stood firm in opposing impeachment. Earlier this month she told the Washington Post she did not support it, despite calling the president “ethically unfit,” “intellectually unfit,” and “curiosity-wise unfit.”
“Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country. And he’s just not worth it,” she said.
Some members of her caucus disagreed with her point of view, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
