Donald Trump has had some especially terrible ideas this week, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling it like she sees it. “Stiff competition, mind you, this is one of his worst ideas,” Pelosi said of Trump’s proposal to cut off aid to the Central American countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. “It could cover so much territory that it’s hard to say worst. This is not a good idea.”
As for closing the U.S. border with Mexico, “What the president seems to forget is that the border is a two-way thing,” Pelosi said. It’s not just about what’s going on in Trump’s head, though, as Pelosi recognized, saying “I don’t know who is advising him there and if advising is even a word. I don’t know who’s poisoning his mind on some of these subjects.”
Pelosi called for the opposite policy on funding for the Northern Triangle countries, saying “I think that we should even do more, and I think that we should make sure the resources are used for the purpose that they are designed for—and that is to improve the safety and quality of life of people so they do not feel the urgency to go endanger their families, to travel so far to take the chance for seeking asylum.” Because, yeah, making things worse in their home countries is a good way to turn people into asylum-seekers—as we’ve seen from decades of U.S. policy in Central America.
Pelosi wasn’t forgetting one important thing, though. When she said “Shutting down the border and cutting off the money are probably in competition for two of his worst ideas," she didn’t forget to add, “Let’s not forget our friend the wall.”