September 16, 2016 | No Comments
There is nothing that Donald Trump has said that congressional Republicans have not, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) claimed Friday, whether it’s about President Barack Obama’s birthplace, immigrants, Muslims or women.
“None of the things that he has said that members of Congress haven’t said over and over again on the Republican side,” Pelosi said on CNN’s “New Day,” quickly adding, that it is “not all of them.”
Whether Trump has put the issue of whether he believes Obama was born in the United States “to rest or not, the damage is done, as far as his evoking a response from a certain element in our country,” Pelosi remarked.
Asked whether she meant that Republican members of Congress are following Trump’s lead, Pelosi suggested, as she has in the past, that it was the opposite.
“No, I think he’s following theirs. I think that in Congress if you look at the record, the public record on, for example, immigration,” the California Democrat continued. “There are worse statements made by members of Congress for a long period of time that they tried to implement into law in terms of Muslims into our country. Shocking language used by Republicans in Congress. So he’s a reflection of them, which is why I think that some of the establishment Republicans are unhappy with Trump for what he says, but also he’s pulled back the veil.”
Trump’s statements are “not shocking to us,” Pelosi added, noting that the election is about “more than the presidency.”
“It’s also about what happens in the Congress of the United States. He calls climate change a hoax, that’s what they—they’re in total denial on it,” she said. “So especially appealing to millennials to say this election is important, it has ramifications and if you care about some of these issues, you really have to consider Hillary Clinton.”
As far as why Trump is continuing to rise in the polls, Pelosi mentioned that more voters are going to a “third and fourth party,” including millennials. The other reason, she said, is that “fear is a big driver, and he’s a fearmonger. That’s what he is. In terms of, he wasn’t born here, we’re going to build a wall, immigrants undermine our society.”
Pelosi also declined to respond on whether she would work with Trump if he ends up in the White House.
“He’s not going to be president. Let’s be very clear,” Pelosi declared, as co-host Chris Cuomo asked, “Where does the confidence come from?”
“My confidence comes from the trust and faith I have in the American people,” Pelosi said. “The American people are not negative. They’re not bigots.”