House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) responded to questions about President Trump’s legal troubles and potential impeachment efforts Thursday by telling the press that they cover those issues too much.
“I wish that the press would spend a lot more time on what we need to do here to meet the needs of the American people instead of morning, noon, and night allegations against the president,” Pelosi told a CNN reporter. “The Justice Department, the Mueller investigation they’ll work their will but there are other things going on that are newsworthy.”
“I think you’d have more viewers and readers if you address concerns that people have rather than just this ongoing, ongoing coverage of what’s current with the president from one day to the next,” she suggested.
Pelosi also addressed a question about whether Democrats would try to obtain Trump’s tax returns.
She said the House Ways & Means Committee would make that decision and cautioned that “it’s a little more challenging than you might think.”
She emphasized other issues the committee would be focusing on, including “trying to make sure the pre-existing benefit is solidified.”
Pelosi emphasized earlier in the briefing that she and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) were not open to negotiation on funding for the border wall. They are not willing to go above the current roughly $1.3 billion level of funding slated for border security.
“Right now, Chuck and I are not in a negotiation of, we’re not going to do $5 billion for the wall,” she said. “We simply are not.”
Pelosi was asked about the potential for President Trump to hold his position on the border wall funding past January when Democrats take control of the House.
“Does he want to have government closed forever?” she replied. “I mean what’s this about? I know he doesn’t believe in government. I know he doesn’t know that much about what is at risk to shut it down.”
As she was leaving the briefing, she informed reporters that “I did tell the president that I pray for him.”
She said the president had responded that she should inform the press because it would be news to them.