Nancy Pelosi set the political world on fire on Monday by saying in an interview with The Washington Post that she is “not for impeachment.”

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“I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country,” the Speaker of the House said. “And he’s just not worth it.”

The full quote via The Washington Post:

I’m not for impeachment. This is news. I’m going to give you some news right now because I haven’t said this to any press person before. But since you asked, and I’ve been thinking about this: 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. And he’s just not worth it.

Anti-Trump progressives, in particular, were quick express their disappointment in Pelosi’s comments, but the Speaker of the House went on to say that her opposition to a drawn-out impeachment fight doesn’t mean she believes Trump is fit to be president of the United States.

She said:

I don’t think he is. I mean, ethically unfit. Intellectually unfit. Curiosity-wise unfit. No, I don’t think he’s fit to be president of the United States. And that’s up to us to make the contrast to show that this president — while he may be appealing to you on your insecurity and therefore your xenophobia, whether it’s globalization or immigrants — is fighting clean air for your children to breathe, clean water for them to drink, food safety, every good thing that we should be doing that people can’t do for themselves. You know, I have five kids, and I think I can do everything for them, but I can’t control the air they breathe, the water that they drink. You depend on the public sector to do certain things for the health and well-being of your family, and he is counter to that.

Nancy Pelosi is playing four-dimensional chess with Donald Trump

Donald Trump has certainly committed impeachable offenses, whether it’s obstructing justice in plain sight or using the presidency as his personal piggy bank, among other things.

But unless there is some Republican support in Congress for the president’s impeachment, there is no political upside for the Democrats to move heaven and earth to make it happen.

The best course of action, at least until the Mueller report is released in full, is for Democrats to continue doing what they’re doing, which is investigating the president, his campaign and his businesses – all while continuing to move forward on the policy agenda they ran on in 2018.

Ultimately, Pelosi seems to be – yet again – playing four-dimensional chess with Donald Trump. Democrats craving impeachment may not her straight talk on impeachment, but the Speaker of the House has repeatedly demonstrated that she knows what she’s doing.

Nancy Pelosi’s strategy means Democrats can continue – through their ongoing investigations – exposing Trump for his potential crimes without having to suffer the political downsides of a partisan impeachment fight.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.