House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is accusing President Donald Trump of degrading the White House after the president suggested that he might give the Republican National Convention speech from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Pelosi said on MSNBC Wednesday “For the president of the United States to degrade — once again — the White House as he has done over and over again, by saying he’s going to completely politicize it is something that should be rejected right out of hand.”
She continued, “It’s again notion mongering, not serious thinking. It won’t happen, let’s put it that way, whether it’s legally wrong or ethically out of the question, it shouldn’t even be something that was expressed.”
Asked if she can “stop” him, Pelosi said, “He can’t do that. You can’t do that. You would be very surprised, I think, at the fact that when you’re at the White House, you’re talking about policy, you’re not talking politics. … You don’t talk politics in the White House and you don’t talk politics under the dome of the Capitol.”
Pelosi added, “You don’t have political events in the Capitol. You don’t have political events in the White House.”
Watch Pelosi’s interview below:
Pelosi says Trump is degrading the White House by trying to float accepting the Republican nomination from the White House. pic.twitter.com/ezpzKokTEY
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) August 5, 2020
On Wednesday morning, Trump called into “Fox & Friends” and when asked about reports that he would possibly accept the nomination from the White House, he said, “We’re thinking about it. It would be the easiest from the standpoint of security.”
Trump added, “We’re thinking about doing it from the White House because there’s no movement and it’s easy.”
Defending plans to accept the Republican nomination at the White House, Trump says he likes DC: "I spend a lot of time here and I like it. And I think it's a great place, and greatly representative of our nation." pic.twitter.com/C3V4LN9UYr
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) August 5, 2020
The idea that the president could deliver the speech that is the defining moment of his party’s convention was roundly condemned by Democrats and even some Republicans were unsure. When asked by reporters about Trump’s suggestion, Sen. Mike Thune (R-S.D.) responded, “Is that even legal?”