Immediately following President Donald Trump’s second Senate impeachment acquittal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made a surprise visit to the House impeachment managers, and revealed her rage at the decision to the media.
Initially, Pelosi walked to the podium and began gesticulating wildly as she damned the Senate for acquitting President Trump.
“What is so important that the political survival of any of us, that is more important, than our Constitution that we take an oath to defend?” asked Pelosi. “What we saw in that Senate today was a cowardly group of Republicans who claim they have no options because they were afraid to defend their job.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denounced the senators who made Donald Trump's acquittal possible as a ‘cowardly group of Republicans’ and blamed McConnell for not allowing the House to deliver the impeachment charge to the Senate while Trump was still in the White House pic.twitter.com/cVu6gtT8uL
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 14, 2021
As Pelosi began to leave the podium, a reporter apparently asked Pelosi about whether she would move to censure President Trump in the House of Representatives.
In response, Pelosi began talking loudly and emotionally before returning to the podium, hands and arms flailing wildly to express her disapproval.
“They let everybody off the hook, all these cowardly Senators,” she said, slamming the podium. “Who couldn’t face up to what the President did, and what was at stake for our country, are now going to have a chance to give a little slap on the wrist? We censure people for using stationary for the wrong purpose, we don’t censure people for inciting insurrection.”
“Nancy Pelosi is far too emotional to hold public office,” wrote reporter Jon Miller.
Nancy Pelosi is far too emotional to hold public office. First she was ripping up speeches she didn’t like, now she is storming about the Capitol babbling like a loon and hitting the podium when she doesn’t get her way. I thought the “adults” were in charge. pic.twitter.com/EN9srSKkMM
— Jon Miller (@MillerStream) February 14, 2021
“First she was ripping up speeches she didn’t like, now she is storming about the Capitol babbling like a loon and hitting the podium when she doesn’t get her way.” He continued, “I thought the ‘adults’ were in charge.”
Some Republicans seem to have given Pelosi’s words credence, however, including Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who immediately contradicted his vote in a speech delivered after President Trump’s acquittal.
In the speech, McConnell claimed that – despite his vote to the contrary – President Trump was “practically and morally responsible” for the events of January 6, and seemingly called for a criminal investigation into President Trump. This came after McConnell allegedly used the threat of a conviction in the Senate to blackmail President Trump and ensure that he did not pardon Julian Assange and other anti-establishment whistleblowers.
