House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi responded Monday to fellow Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters's call for Trump administration officials to be harassed by protesters as "unacceptable."
Pelosi blamed President Donald Trump's "daily lack of civility" for provoking responses "that are predictable but unacceptable" when she retweeted a CNN story about the comments Waters made over the weekend.
Pelosi did not mention Waters by name but called for "unity" as Republicans and Democrats prepare for a showdown in November's midterm elections.
"In the crucial months ahead, we must strive to make America beautiful again. Trump's daily lack of civility has provoked responses that are predictable but unacceptable. As we go forward, we must conduct elections in a way that achieves unity from sea to shining sea," Pelosi tweeted.
In the crucial months ahead, we must strive to make America beautiful again. Trump’s daily lack of civility has provoked responses that are predictable but unacceptable. As we go forward, we must conduct elections in a way that achieves unity from sea to shining sea. https://t.co/vlpqOBLK4R
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) June 25, 2018
Democrats and liberals faced criticism after Waters, during a rally in Los Angeles Saturday, encouraged protesters to confront officials in President Donald Trump's White House. Waters was angered by the Trump administration's change in policy that resulted in immigrant children being taken from their parents after illegal border crossings.
"I have no sympathy for these people that are in this administration who know it is wrong, what they're doing, on so many fronts, but they tend to not want to confront this president," Waters said.
She continued, "For these members of his cabinet who remain and try to defend him, they're not going to be able to go to a restaurant, they're not going to be able to stop at a gas station, they're not going to be able to shop at a department store. The people are going to turn on them, they're going to protest, they're going to absolutely harass them until they decide that they're going to tell the president, 'No I can't hang with you, this is wrong, this is unconscionable, and we can't keep doing this to children.'"
The incendiary remarks came after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked Friday to leave a restaurant because of her job within the Trump administration. White House adviser Stephen Miller was also heckled by a protester and called a "fascist," while Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was chastised by protesters last week.
Conservatives pounced on Waters's remarks as an example of liberals inciting violence, and other left-leaning voices questioned her as well.
The latter's comments could be reflective of a Democratic Party that is unsure of how it should try to tackle Trump and Republicans in the fall.
Unlike some of her fellow Democrats, Pelosi has repeatedly stated that the party should not run their midterm campaigns on impeaching Trump, and instead focus on economic messaging and how the party can help the average American worker.
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