Pelosi and Schiff, Simply Appearing on TV, Spark Another Meltdown. That’s a Win for Pro-Impeachers.

The president loses it over a rather unremarkable press conference.

Evan Vucci/AP

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced late Tuesday that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, would be making a special appearance at her weekly press briefing, setting off a wave of intrigue among avid impeachment-watchers.
 
“Please be an impeachment inquiry into Pence, Barr, and Pompeo, or any combination of the above,” Louise Mensch, the former British MP prone to conspiracy theories, prayed. “Gonna be a busy, busy, busy, busy day,” a CNN reporter predicted. “Checks watch. Sets alarm.”
 
Alas, the press conference Wednesday morning turned out to be rather underwhelming. “Does anybody in this room care about the cost of prescription drugs?” Pelosi asked reporters, knowing full well that the answer was in fact, nah.
 
But President Donald Trump appears to have witnessed something entirely different. Rather than find relief in the nothing-burger briefing, the exceedingly thin-skinned president logged onto Twitter to fire off a series of furious tweets.

Trump then ranted before reporters in the Oval Office, spewing a stream of false attacks against his political enemies. 

Failing to achieve catharsis with the Oval Office tantrum, Trump continued to lash out at a joint press conference. It was spectacular:

The reaction could be considered a small, but meaningful victory for Democrats. By simply goading the president into a predictable meltdown over nothing, the case for his unfitness for office grew even stronger. 

Owned by no one—except you.

We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

Can you chip in today?

Owned by no one—except you.

We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

Can you chip in today?

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate