Former President Donald Trump is not holding back his criticism of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
During a rally ostensibly in support of Republican Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance on Monday night, Trump decided to take aim at Pelosi, whose husband is recovering from a brutal assault.
The former president spoke about an incident of crime, then added, “This was an animal. Nancy Pelosi said, ‘Please don’t call them animals, they’re human beings.’ I said, ‘No they’re animals.'”
He proceeded to call the House speaker a six-letter word.
“Of course, I think she’s an animal if you want to know the truth. They’ll say, ‘Oh what a horrible thing he said about Nancy.’ She impeached me twice for nothing!”
Watch the video below:
Trump calls Nancy Pelosi an "animal."
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 8, 2022
"She impeached me twice for nothing!" pic.twitter.com/zItSRg0IfE
Just because Paul Pelosi was attacked does not necessarily mean Republicans should cease their criticism and attacks on Nancy Pelosi.
But perhaps you could at least try to show some courtesy.
You can debate the merits of the first impeachment. But the second impeachment came after people stormed the U.S. Capitol seeking to disrupt the certification of the election, following weeks of his unfounded claims that widespread fraud altered the results.
Trump also did not immediately tell people to leave the Capitol. And according to testimony during the Jan. 6 committee, he was aware they were armed.
Whether or not his words really would have made a difference to those savagely fighting law enforcement officers is an open question. But would it have hurt to quickly and forecefully condemn the violence?
Aside from the decorum of his comments, there is the question of, why?
How does this help Vance in his Senate race in Ohio?
Republicans are favored to win the House and there is speculation that Pelosi might retire and no longer be a factor in Congress if Democrats lose their majority.
And even if neither of those happened, Vance is running for the Senate. What exactly does Trump’s feud with Pelosi have to do with why Vance should be in the Senate?
It seems pretty clear Trump is planning to run again — he all but said he is announcing a campaign next Tuesday. But his rally in Ohio on Monday and in Pennsylvania on Saturday where he took jabs at potential primary voters show once again he is mainly focused on promoting Trump 2024 more than Republicans in 2022.