Trump taunts Nancy Pelosi following Georgia election loss: 'I certainly hope the Democrats do not force Nancy P out'
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
President Donald Trump taunted Nancy Pelosi in a tweet Thursday as Republicans and some Democrats have pinned the loss of the special election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District on the House minority leader.
"I certainly hope the Democrats do not force Nancy P out. That would be very bad for the Republican Party - and please let Cryin' Chuck stay!" Trump wrote, referring to Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
While Republicans have mocked Pelosi's leadership in the past — the Republican National Committee sarcastically endorsed Pelosi for minority leader last year — the party's successful strategy of linking Democratic congressional hopefuls to the unpopular minority leader has caused some Democrats to call for new leadership.
Rep. Tim Ryan, who unsuccessfully challenged Pelosi for minority leader last year, told Business Insider said he did not know how Democrats could take the House in 2018 if the GOP was successfully able to convince independents and Republicans that a vote for a Democratic candidate is essentially a vote for Pelosi's leadership.
"I don't know if there is a solution in the short term," Ryan said. "It's clear that tactic still works, still packs a punch, and it's part of a broader toxicity of being part of the Democratic brand regardless of where you are."
Pelosi's allies have pointed out that many of the negative impressions that Republicans have of her are equally true of House Speaker Paul Ryan among Democratic voters.
"Republicans blew through millions to keep a ruby-red seat, and in their desperate rush to stop the hemorrhaging, they've returned to demonizing the party's strongest fund-raiser and consensus builder," Drew Hammill, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff, told The New York Times. "They don't have Clinton or Obama, so this is what they do."