In an appearance on “The View” Wednesday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) suggested that White House staff should stage an “intervention” because something is clearly “wrong” with President Donald Trump, perhaps rendering him unfit to hold office.
“Asked about her level of concern for Trump’s health given her role as second in the line of succession behind Vice President Mike Pence, Pelosi said she was very concerned for both herself and others around the country suffering amid the coronavirus pandemic,” according to USA Today.
“That’s why I think that there has to be an intervention in terms of people around him,” she said.
Although she didn’t mention any specific evidence of Trump’s lack of fitness, she did cite the president’s allegedly “erratic” behavior and suggested that the president’s close advisors and top Republican colleagues are “enabling” him.
“The president has always had erratic behavior. Right now it’s very, very dangerous because he knows the danger of the virus [but] he’s in denial, as he was right from the state,” Pelosi said. “Denial, delay, distortion, and look what has happened to our country.”
“There are enablers around the president who really should know better,” the top Democrat added. “The Republicans in Congress have enabled so much of this to happen.”
Playing amateur doctor, Pelosi even suggested that a particular corticosteroid, dexamethasone, that doctors prescribed to the president to help aid in his recovery from COVID-19, might be impacting his ability to think clearly.
“I don’t know, but there are those healthcare providers who say that,” Pelosi claimed, citing internet sleuths who discovered a list of the drug’s side effects, and claiming the president could be in “denial” about his recovery. “Also, if you have the coronavirus, it has an impact, as well. So the combination is something that should be viewed.”
“We should be concerned because of the virus and its viciousness, but also because of the denial the president is in,” she added. “There’s something wrong about the disconnect between what the president’s responsibilities are and what’s happening.”
When asked key agenda items the president was “delaying” or “denying,” Pelosi referred to Trump’s decision to halt negotiations on a fourth coronavirus relief plan until after the election — an unexpected change in the White House’s position on the subject, but one potentially driven by Democrats’ decision to cut just $1 trillion off their proposed $3 trillion plan passed in early May.
Trump has since said he would support sending individual stimulus checks to Americans, though other bailouts, handouts, and economic stimulus projects are still off the table.
“The fact is that he saw the political downside of his statement of walking away from the negotiations. He walked away from the opportunity to crush the virus so that we could open our schools and our economy safely, he walked away from putting money in the pockets of the American people,” she added, though the retooled House relief act was related to economic recovery.
“It’s interesting that he said he’d send out those checks if we sent him that bill, because all he’s ever wanted in the negotiation is to send out a check with his name on it. Forget about the virus, forget about our heroes, forget about our children, and their need to go to school safely,” she added.