Trump, Pelosi trade barbs as impeachment talk stirs anger

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U.S. Democratic congressional leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said Donald Trump is angry that her party is not rushing to impeach him, as the relationship reached new lows with the rivals trading crude personal barbs.

It was the second straight day of a very public war of words between Trump and the speaker of the House of Representatives, who earlier questioned the president's mental fitness for office and expressed hope that those close to Trump would stage an intervention "for the good of the country."

Trump responded by branding Pelosi "crazy Nancy," in what appeared to be the first time he ascribed a pejorative nickname to the woman who is his congressional nemesis.

The back-and-forth attacks are highlighting the bitter feud that has swelled since the release last month of the special counsel's report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holds her weekly news conference with Capitol Hill reporters in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2019. /Reuters Photo

According to Pelosi, Trump's strategy is to get his opponents to commit themselves to impeachment – a process that would almost certainly pass in the House, and then fail in the Republican-controlled Senate, ultimately energizing Trump's core voters during his re-election bid.

"The White House is just crying out for impeachment," she told journalists.

Trump is "disappointed" that the Democrats are holding off for now, Pelosi said, even as they intensify congressional investigations into the president's links to Russia and his alleged obstruction of justice — probes that Trump is trying to block.

"It may take us to a place that is unavoidable in terms of impeachment or not, but we're not at that place," she said.

Pelosi, who repeated her charge that Trump was engaged in a "cover-up," goaded the president, declaring that she was praying for him and that she wished "his family or his staff or his administration would have an intervention for the good of the country."

U.S. President Donald Trump listens during an event devoted to "America's farmers and ranchers" in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 23, 2019. /Reuters Photo

Trump responded with demeaning accusations, branding her "crazy Nancy" and questioning her mental fitness.

"She's not the same person," he told reporters at the White House during a prolonged rant. "She's lost it."

Trump watched Pelosi during their meeting, "and she was all crazy with the hands and everything," he said, waving his arms around for emphasis. "She is a mess."

The remarks came in a week of legal setbacks for Trump, including a federal judge's ruling that a House subpoena of Trump financial records was lawful.

"I think what really got to him was these court cases and the fact that the House Democratic caucus is not on a path to impeachment, and that's where he wants us to be," Pelosi said on Thursday.

A day earlier Pelosi and other Democrats came to the White House to discuss infrastructure, only to have the president abruptly cancel the talks and proclaim there could be no progress on policy issues until Democrats end their "phony" investigations.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (L), a Democrat from California, speaks to members of the media following a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 22, 2019. /VCG Photo

Pelosi said Trump threw a "temper tantrum" at the meeting, pounded his fists on the table and then stormed out.

U.S. President Donald Trump's twitter screenshot. /CGTN Photo

Several Democratic lawmakers and 2020 presidential contenders are eager to move forward with impeachment proceedings, citing what they say is Trump's obstruction of justice and refusal to respect congressional oversight powers.

But there are concerns among senior Democrats that the impeachment tactic could backfire, energizing Trump's base ahead of the 2020 election.

Asked directly if he was seeking that outcome, Trump was cautious.

"I don't think anybody wants to be impeached," he said while expressing confidence that American voters would see the process as "a bad thing for our country."

Source(s): AFP