President Donald Trump, against the backdrop of the graves of fallen Allied soldiers in Normandy, France, attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a “nasty, vindictive, horrible person” after she reportedly told senior Democrats this week that she wanted to see the president “in prison.”
“I think she’s a disgrace. I actually don’t think she’s a talented person,” Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired late Thursday. “I’ve tried to be nice to her because I would have liked to have gotten some deals done.”
The president then quickly directed his anger at another familiar target, Robert Mueller, falsely claiming that the special counsel had written a letter to “straighten out his testimony because his testimony was wrong.”
It’s unclear exactly what the president was referring to, as Mueller has yet to testify on his findings in the Russia investigation. In his only public remarks discussing the probe, Mueller hinted last month that he would likely decline to tell Congress anything beyond what has already been released in the redacted version of his report. As for Trump’s comment about a letter, members of Congress did release a letter Mueller had written to Attorney General William Barr in late March. But that letter was sent in protest of Barr’s public characterization of the investigation’s findings. It’s also possible that Trump was referring to a press conference Mueller staged last month, in which he notably did not exonerate the president.
Either way, the president’s claim is incorrect.
The remarks came as further evidence that Trump’s thoughts remained squarely focused on his perceived enemies—the media, Democrats, Mueller—and not the solemnity of the events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Earlier in his sit-down with Ingraham, Trump boasted that the interview was “holding up” the start of the ceremony. It’s not actually clear if Trump’s statement was true; French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly arrived for the ceremony after Trump had finished the interview.
D-Day ceremony in Normandy starting thirty minutes late, veterans were waiting.
Trump did Fox News interview after he arrived, slowing him from reaching stage. But, from pool’s vantage point, he appeared to be done and ready before Macron arrived, at which point ceremony began
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) June 6, 2019
