President Trump ‘just not worth’ impeaching: Pelosi

washington — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, America’s most powerful Democrat, said in remarks published on Monday that she does not support impeaching Donald Trump, arguing the Republican president is ‘just not worth it.’

‘I’m not for impeachment,’ Pelosi told The Washington Post in a wide-ranging interview, the strongest signal yet that the Democratic leadership is deeply hesitant about taking such an explosive step to remove a sitting president.

“Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country,” she said. “And he’s just not worth it.” Trump and his associates face multiple investigations, including one headed by Special Counsel

Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and

bipartisan

Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker

Robert Mueller that is looking into Russian influence on the 2016 US election and potential collusion between Trump’s team and Moscow.

And in explosive congressional testimony late last month, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen branded the president a conman and cheat and sought to implicate his ex-boss in multiple crimes.

Even as she waves off calls to impeach Trump, Pelosi — who in January began her second stint as speaker after Democrats won back the House in midterm elections — stressed that she does not believe he is fit to lead the nation.

“I don’t think he is” fit to be president, she said in the interview. “I mean, ethically unfit. Intellectually unfit. Curiosity-wise unfit.” The investigations and related testimony like Cohen’s may or may not produce evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors on the president’s part.

Some rank-and-file House Democrats, like freshmen liberal Rashida Tlaib, are keen to being impeachment proceedings. Their ranks are sure to grow if more serious evidence of presidential wrongdoing emerges.