Former White House strategist Steve Bannon saw House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a formidable opponent to President Trump after she challenged him in a meeting in the first days of his presidency, according to a new book.
Trump opened a meeting with House and Senate leaders on Jan. 23, 2017, by talking about the 2016 election and claiming he won the popular vote instead of Hillary Clinton, who won by almost three million more votes. Pelosi, who was minority leader at the time, pointed out the error.
“Pelosi assumed Trump would open the conversation on a unifying note, such as by quoting the Founding Fathers or the Bible. Instead, the new president began with a lie: ‘You know, I won the popular vote.’ He claimed that there had been widespread fraud, with three to five million illegal votes for Clinton,” authors and Washington Post reporters Phil Rucker and Carol Leonnig wrote in their forthcoming book A Very Stable Genius.
“Pelosi interjected,” they continued. “‘Well, Mr. President, that’s not true,’ she said. ‘There’s no evidence to support what you just said, and if we’re going to work together, we have to stipulate to a certain set of facts.'”
The book added, “Watching Pelosi challenge Trump, Bannon whispered to colleagues, ‘She’s going to get us. Total assassin. She’s an assassin.'”
Bannon has spoken highly of Pelosi’s skill in the past. In November, he said the top Democrat was “a master at political warfare.”
Earlier this week, Pelosi, 79, transmitted the articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate. His impeachment trial begins Tuesday to determine whether to remove him from office over his conduct toward Ukraine. A Very Stable Genius is also due to be released Tuesday.
