House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on Friday denounced President Donald Trump’s executive order on Obamacare regulations, saying that it would incur public backlash.
Pelosi said Trump’s actions may not be legal, but regardless of that fact, it would face trouble in the "court of public opinion." She fiercely defended Obamacare and invoked the "health of the American people" as she posited ways to counter Trump’s action.
"Well, I'm not even sure what he did yesterday was legal, and there will be others who will question that in the courts," Pelosi said. "But in the meantime, we have a way to remedy—I use that word specifically—to remedy what is needed for the good health of the American people."
"The court of public opinion is the wisest court that there is," she added.
Pelosi also complained that Trump was motivated by spite in his efforts to reform health care. She explained why she preferred to use that word to describe his actions.
"I just go back to one thing because I keep using the word 'spite,'" she said. "Spite became very clear to all of us when the president announced he was going to overturn the Affordable Care Act ... on the day it became law."
She pointed to Republicans failing to bring a bill to the floor as evidence that they do not have a positive agenda. She then returned to her point that public opinion matters more than what Republicans enact.
"So now let's act in a respectful way to each other, recognizing the president has a signature, the Republicans have the majority, the American people have the voice, and we are here for their good health," Pelosi said.