House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a lot to say Thursday morning about the erratic back and forth from Donald Trump on coronavirus relief negotiations, on his health, and on his fitness to serve right now, in this crisis. "He walked away from what we were trying to do to put money in the pockets of the American people, food on the table, rent so they are not evicted," Pelosi said. "He walked away from our heroes. He said to those health-care workers, police and fire, teachers, teachers, teachers, transportation, sanitation, food workers and the rest, we do not care. You do not matter. This is appalling."
Then she refers to Trump calling himself a "perfect physical specimen" in a Thursday morning interview on Fox."His disassociation from reality would be funny if it weren't so deadly," she said. Asked by a reporter "do you think it is time to invoke the 25th amendment?" Pelosi responded, "I will talk to you about it tomorrow. […] But you take me back to my point. Mr. President, when was the last time you had a negative test before you tested positive? Why is the White House not telling the country? That important fact about how this spread and made a hotspot of the White House." She blasted Trump for blaming a Gold Star family for his COVID-19 infection. "Can you believe that he would say such a thing?"
Pelosi also was interviewed by Bloomberg Thursday morning to discuss the status of the negotiations. She reiterated that "We are not leaving the table. This has to happen," and said she believes that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin still has the authority to negotiate the deal, but that Trump is in an "altered state right now" because of his infection and treatment. "There are those who say when you are on steroids or have COVID-19, there may be some impairment of judgment," she said.
Trump could and should invoke the 25th Amendment, handing power over to Vice President Pence until he recovers from COVID-19. The amendment specifies that "Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President." The problem is, Trump thinks he's cured.
The other aspect of the 25th Amendment is even less likelier to happen—Trump's complete removal by his government. That's a hard one. It would require that "the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." Pence and the "principal officers"—Trump's cabinet—are not going to do that. Nor is two-thirds of Mitch McConnell's Senate. But it's important for Pelosi to push the issue of Trump's glaring incapacitation right now, because everything between now and November 3 is so critical; more coronavirus relief, a Supreme Court nomination, and a White House and Pentagon in full contagion.
