Transit talk turns to Trump

On Wednesday morning, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) had hoped to focus on Los Angeles County’s transportation needs as it prepares for the 2028 Olympics.

So in a gathering that included Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, Pelosi and local leaders met at Union Station to discuss the need for federal money to complete major road, highway, bridge and transit projects and highlighted the fact that President Trump has not unveiled his promised $1trillion infrastructure investment plan.

But afterward, Pelosi was pressed by reporters mainly to respond to the president’s assertion that “there is blame on both sides” for the weekend violence that erupted during white nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Va.

“I was hoping we could focus first of all on infrastructure because that’s what we’re here to talk about,” Pelosi said. “We haven’t seen an [infrastructure] initiative yet. We even thought we might see one yesterday, but we didn’t,” she continued, referring to Trump’s planned remarks on infrastructure that veered off course Tuesday when he repeated explosive comments about the violent protests in Virginia.

“What we saw yesterday was the president clearly demonstrating that he doesn’t know right from wrong, true from false, American patriotism from white nationalism,” Pelosi said. “Very sad for our country.”

However, she added that she has not promoted the idea of impeaching Trump, and that not knowing right from wrong “is not necessarily grounds for impeachment.” Some Democratic representatives have called for impeachment, and on Tuesday night, Pelosi’s fellow Bay Area representative, Jackie Speier, called for Trump to be removed under the 25th Amendment.

“If he crosses the line in terms of obeying the law, then we’ll see,” Pelosi said.

She also commented on the fight over whether a rally organized by a conservative group that has featured white nationalist speakers in the past should go forward as scheduled in San Francisco on Aug. 26.

The minority leader, who has asked the National Park Service to reconsider a permit for the protest, said that Trump had “ginned up” far-right groups, including white nationalists, and that the U.S. is facing a “moment of truth” in terms of what is deemed acceptable public expression.

“The 1st Amendment is very important to us .... It does not give you a constitutional right to yell, ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater,” she said. “They are endangering people, and they must be stopped.”