As Impeachment Push Falls Apart, Pelosi Still Wants Trump's Help with Gun Control
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she has high hopes of working with President Donald Trump on legislation to address issues such as gun violence, though Trump himself declared that the California Democrat has “lost her way” and is not interested in resolving America’s problems.
On Tuesday morning, Pelosi and Trump spoke about enacting gun violence legislation, the speaker said, according to Newsmax.
A few hours later, however, she announced a formal impeachment inquiry that could ultimately remove Trump from the White House.
The catalyst for the move to open the inquiry was touted as the controversy over a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to a White House transcript of the call, Trump asked Zelensky to investigate allegations that while he was vice president, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden impurely interfered in Ukraine’s efforts to investigate an energy company that employed Biden’s son, Hunter.
In a statement announcing her support for the impeachment inquiry, Pelosi claimed “the actions of the Trump presidency have revealed the dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” The Washington Post reported.
That led to a rejoinder from White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, according to CNN.
“In a far departure from all of the work and results of this President, House Democrats have destroyed any chances of legislative progress for the people of this country by continuing to focus all their energy on partisan political attacks,” she said in a statement.
“Their attacks on the President and his agenda are not only partisan and pathetic, they are in dereliction of their Constitutional duty.”
When asked on Wednesday about destroying her working relationship with the White House by pressing ahead with impeachment, Pelosi said “that’s not what he told me” during the previous day.
Pelosi also said she wanted to work with the president on drug pricing.
“I certainly hope so. I don’t think that erases any concern he might have for America’s working families and their need for lower drug prices,” Pelosi said.
Trump was asked about his relationship with Pelosi on Wednesday, according to a White House media pool report.
“Look, she’s lost her way. She’s been taken over by the radical left. She may be a radical left herself, but she really has lost her way. I spoke to her about guns yesterday. She didn’t even know what I was talking about. She’s not interested in guns,” Trump said.
The Washington Free Beacon and Politico both reported that talks to address gun violence have stalled, in no small part thanks to Pelosi’s insistence on pursuing an impeachment probe.
“Hard to imagine Trump doing a signing ceremony of anything with Speaker Pelosi at his side, and Democrats are the only ones agitating for gun control,” an anonymous staffer told the Free Beacon.
When asked about gun violence legislation, Trump said, “I’ll tell you what: Nancy Pelosi is not interested in guns and gun protection and gun safety. All she is thinking about is this.”
“She’s been taken over by the radical left, the whole Democrat Party. And you take a look at what’s happening in the media today. The whole party is taken over by the left,” Trump said.
Trump then cited his rising popularity and said Democrats have failed to focus on the issues that matter to the American people.
“And things like, as an example, drug pricing — getting drugs down — things like gun safety, infrastructure, the Democrats can’t talk about that because they’ve been taken over by a radical group of people,” he said.
“And Nancy Pelosi, as far as I’m concerned, unfortunately she’s no longer the speaker of the House.”
Trump spoke at the U.N. with Zelensky, who was asked if Trump pressured him during the controversial phone call.
“I think you read everything. So I think you read text,” Zelensky replied, referring to the transcript released by the White House. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be involved to democratic, open elections — elections of USA.”
“No, you heard that we had, I think, good phone call. It was normal. We spoke about many things. And I — so I think, and you read it, that nobody pushed — pushed me.”
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