A new poll from Politico/Morning Consult suggests that Americans have restored Nancy Pelosi to her rightful place as the nation’s chief villain among its leaders. According to the survey, only 31 percent of voters think Pelosi should remain as Speaker of the House. 56 percent believe she shouldn’t.
President Trump never had numbers this bad — not in any reliable poll. And I’m pretty sure Majority Leader McConnell would poll considerably better than Pelosi did in the Politico/Morning Consult survey.
Throughout most of her time as Speaker, Pelosi was a gift to Republicans. With Pelosi as the villain, the GOP was able to raise massive amounts of money, energize its base, and score several impressive electoral victories.
However, things changed when Donald Trump entered office. Although probably never as unpopular as Pelosi, Trump dwarfed her on the national stage, making her seem irrelevant. This happened not just because of the office Trump held, but also because of the way he carried himself. Trump was a lightning rod.
Thus, the past two elections have been about him, not Pelosi. That’s a big reason why the same voters who would rather Pelosi not be the Speaker voted in ways that made her that.
But with Trump soon to be out of office, Pelosi will once again be front and center. If this isn’t another reason why Democrats feel gloomy about the state of play, it should be.
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