On her Friday show, MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell told former Speaker Nancy Pelosi that Republicans are flirting with the idea of impeaching President Biden over “unfounded allegations” and that she was “very cautious” when pursuing the impeachment of Donald Trump. When it came time for Pelosi to respond to these declarations, even they were too much as she scolded Mitchell for even mentioning it.
The whole interview was full of softballs, but on the issue of impeachment, Mitchell wondered, “How do you feel about the push by the House Republicans, many of them, Speaker’s certainly, you know, flirted with this idea of impeachment proceedings against, you know, President Biden because of unfounded allegations that he was involved with his son Hunter's businesses.”
As Pelosi started to object, Mitchell continued, “As you well know, as you were very cautious about starting impeachment proceedings for the very reason that once you start in a special committee or the Judiciary Committee, it's hard to stop that process.”
Pelosi was so cautious and methodical that after the House was done impeaching Trump the first time, the media demanded that Senate Republicans do House Democrats’ job and interview more witnesses.
Back in present day, however, Pelosi chastised Mitchell for even bringing it up:
Well let’s-- with all due respect to your question, this is frivolous, this is a diversionary tactic. They just can't stand the fact we have a job report of over nearly 200,000 jobs today, that unemployment is three-and-a-half percent, that 18 straight months of unemployment under 4 percent. We’re talking about 13.4 million jobs created with Joe Biden in the White House and working with the Congressional Democrats.
Pelosi would go on to claim Republicans “have nothing to offer the American people,” hype the possibility of Democrats winning the House in 2024, and lament that the GOP has become a “cult.”
As for Mitchell, she didn’t push back on Pelosi’s 13.4 million jobs figure. Even PolitiFact rated an early version of that claim “mostly false.” Instead, she followed up by asking what Democrats can do about it to which Pelosi replied “public sentiment.”
This segment was sponsored by Prevagen.
Here is a transcript for the August 4 show:
MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports
8/4/2023
12:38 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: How do you feel about the push by the House Republicans, many of them, Speaker’s certainly, you know, flirted with this idea of impeachment proceedings against, you know, President Biden because of unfounded allegations that he was involved with his son Hunter's businesses.
NANCY PELOSI: But let's just –
MITCHELL: As you well know, as you were very cautious about starting impeachment proceedings for the very reason that once you start in a special committee or the Judiciary Committee, it's hard to stop that process.
NANCY PELOSI: Well let’s-- with all due respect to your question, this is frivolous, this is a diversionary tactic. They just can't stand the fact we have a job report of over nearly 200,000 jobs today, that unemployment is three-and-a-half percent, that 18 straight months of unemployment under 4 percent. We’re talking about 13.4 million jobs created with Joe Biden in the White House and working with the Congressional Democrats.
They have to change the subject and they have nothing to offer the American people in terms of jobs and the rest, they talk about it, but then they change the subject when it's time to deliver.
I'm so proud of the Democrats in the Congress. We fully intend to take back the House the next time so we don't have to deal with the frivolity, the waste of time of the Congress for them to go down this path. It's really sad. I wish that the Republican Party would be -- somebody would take it back, that we would have a real Republican Party. It's up to them to decide what it is, but it shouldn't be a cult—it shouldn’t be a cult to somebody frivolous with the law and his puppets.
