On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress “domestic enemies” to the Constitution. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) called out the heinous remark, recalling the 2017 shooting that nearly took his life.
“Disgusting: Nancy Pelosi just called Republicans ‘domestic enemies.’ I was shot because of this kind of unhinged rhetoric,” Scalise tweeted. “Where’s the media outrage?”
🚨 Disgusting: Nancy Pelosi just called Republicans "domestic enemies.”
I was shot because of this kind of unhinged rhetoric.
Where’s the media outrage? pic.twitter.com/cJZQ3E4dnU
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) August 24, 2020
Pelosi did indeed condemn Republicans as “domestic enemies.” She joined MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin on Monday to claim that Trump’s warnings about vote by mail are an attempt to prevent people from voting in November. She said his goal is “to scare people from voting.”
“We take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. And sadly, the domestic enemies to our voting system and our honoring our Constitution are right at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with their allies in the Congress of the United States,” Pelosi declared.
She went on to argue that “diminishing the role of the Postal Service” makes the Republicans “enemies of the state.” Yet Trump is not “diminishing the role of the Postal Service.” Rather, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy planned some reforms to the Postal Service, which he has decided to put on hold until after the election.
Pelosi Again Stands by Horrific Murder Accusation That May Incite Violence Against Republicans
Much of the Democrats’ attack boils down to their demands for $25 billion in extra funding for the Post Office. Yet the Post Office already has more than $12 billion in the bank.
🚨 Today in Pelosi's House:
Dems called an "emergency" session to play politics and hand USPS $25 BILLION of taxpayer money.
What they're not telling you: They don't need it—USPS has $12B+ in the bank.
Will the media tell families and small businesses with $0 in the bank this? pic.twitter.com/9FJNY0xm6C
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) August 23, 2020
Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) also tied Pelosi’s explosive rhetoric to the 2017 shooting at the Republican practice for the congressional baseball game.
“I was w/ [Steve Scalise] and others when a deranged, GOP-hating gunman opened fire on us. This rhetoric hurts our country. We may disagree on policy, but I would never call Dem colleagues in Congress enemies of the state. Speaker Pelosi should apologize for her dangerous rhetoric,” Davis tweeted.
I was w/ @SteveScalise and others when a deranged, GOP-hating gunman opened fire on us. This rhetoric hurts our country. We may disagree on policy, but I would never call Dem colleagues in Congress enemies of the state. Speaker Pelosi should apologize for her dangerous rhetoric. https://t.co/Ynn2GhorB4
— US Rep Rodney Davis (@RodneyDavis) August 24, 2020
Tragically, this is not the first time Pelosi has leveled such a dangerous accusation against Republicans. In June, she accused Republicans of “trying to get away with murder… the murder of George Floyd” because their police reform bill was not as radical as the Democrat version. She made this accusation after rioters devastated American cities — destroying black lives, black livelihoods, and black monuments — in the name of George Floyd. Rather than apologizing for the remarks, she doubled and tripled down on them.
How did the consummate political actor Nancy Pelosi become such a disgusting and heinous partisan mudslinger?
After Minnesota Republican State House Rep. Shane Mekeland — at that time merely a candidate — received a brutal politically-motivated beating, he warned that “the likes of Maxine Waters, Hillary, and Eric Holder as of late [are] driving this behavior.”
At the time, Waters had called for activists to harass members of the Trump administration in public places like gas stations and restaurants. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) encouraged activists to “get up in the face” of Republican candidates and office-holders. Hillary Clinton said Democrats “cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for.” Eric Holder declared, “When they go low, we kick them.”
“This stuff just fuels this,” Mekeland told PJ Media, referring to the assault against him.
Americans need to learn to disagree civilly, but Pelosi is spreading dangerous and arguably inciting rhetoric against Trump and the Republicans, rhetoric that is not backed up with proof about a supposed threat to the republic. Her actions are despicable, and she needs to apologize.
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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