House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quite literally outdid herself this week. Shortly after stepping up to the microphone Thursday to direct the drafting of articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, Pelosi ultimately overshadowed her own historic moment at a press conference following the announcement as she attempted to exit stage left. That's when a reporter from the right-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group hurled the type of Hail Mary question the Speaker almost always takes a pass on: "Do you hate the president, Madam Speaker?"
We all know what happened from there—Pelosi wasn't going to put up with that kind of crap for a second. She turned to the reporter abruptly, wagged her finger at him, and clarified, "I don't hate anybody." Then, in a highly unusual move, Pelosi marched straight back to the podium so everyone would have access to the audio of what she was about to give. This historical moment isn't about politics, she explained. “This is about the Constitution of the United States and the facts that lead to the president's violation of his oath of office," she said, "and as a Catholic, I resent you using the word 'hate' in a sentence that addresses me.”
In an era of toxic political tensions, featuring a commander in chief constantly motivated by animus and airing his political grievances, Pelosi took umbrage at the notion that her actions were rooted in some sort of personal vendetta against Trump. Not on her watch. Not in this political moment when the nation is desperate for the steady hand of a clear-eyed leader at the helm. It was a moment that recalled so many others in which Pelosi, bound by purpose and mindful of her oath, has stood up to a man who inspires cowardice in nearly everyone else who crosses him.
"Remarkable," was how former Republican strategist Steve Schmidt framed Pelosi's steely rebuttal Thursday. "She's proven over this period of the Trump era, she's literally the only serious national leader the country has. And I disagree with her on many, many issues," he added, before praising Pelosi for understanding that she's "constitutionally obligated to prosecute this matter" because Trump's actions have been so beyond the pale.
To be sure, Pelosi's viral moments since retaking the speakership this year have cheered liberals, turning her into a cause célèbre among many on the political left. One instantly recalls her donning that iconic flame-red coat and sunglasses as she exited the West Wing after battling Trump during the shutdown. Or how about her staring down Trump from across that Cabinet Room table, charging that "all roads lead to Putin" as Trump's generals buried their gazes in their laps.
But as delightful as these moments are for a large swath of Americans who despise what Trump is doing to our country, they appear to be adding up to much more than just fleeting moments of immediate gratification. Civiqs continually polls both Trump's approval rating and favorability rating, the former being a measure of the job he's doing as president and the latter more of a measure of the man himself. Trump's approvals on Civiqs are fairly steady at round 43/44%, but his favorables are more responsive to the politics of the moment. Note below that just after Pelosi announced the impeachment inquiry in late September, Trump's favorables among independents began to rise, presumably as some sort of rallying around the commander in chief. Then right around October 16 they reached an inflection point where they abruptly changed course after reaching near parity at 50% unfavorable to 47% favorable. October 16 was the day the House delivered a stinging bipartisan rebuke of Trump's sudden decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, passing a disapproval resolution by a vote of 354 to 60. It was also the day the picture of Pelosi admonishing the president in the Cabinet Room went viral after Trump tweeted out the photo. Trump's favorability among independents has been falling ever since, now sitting at 54%-42% unfavorable/favorable.
While Pelosi's viral moments aren't singularly sinking Trump, they have served as a persistent reminder of what intentional, duty-bound leadership looks like in an era where one of America's political parties is literally disseminating Russian talking points in defense of a president who is betraying our country in sole service of himself. Republicans are, in fact, so outmatched by Pelosi that they can't comprehend the import of her actions. Following Pelosi's press conference this week, Trump pounced, saying Pelosi had some sort of "nervous fit." House Minority Whip Steve Scalise remarked, “I think things are starting to unravel.” They clearly don't get that Pelosi had drawn a distinctive line in the sand distinguishing her actions from theirs as not motivated by feral partisanship, but rather faithful to both her oath of office and the American people she serves.
Nancy Pelosi, perhaps more than any other leader in the nation right now, understands her place in history here and she has stepped into it. She's on a mission. And as she told the reporter who queried her hatred of Trump, "Don't mess with me."