No novo livro, Pelosi detalha uma conversa de 20 minutos com Trump antes do primeiro impeachment.
"Why are you doing that?" Trump asked, according to Pelosi in her new book, "The Art of Power."
In the more than 20-minute back-and-forth, Pelosi described Trump as "becoming increasingly whiny by the end" and framed the conversation as "contentious" as the former president defended his actions and Pelosi explained why she planned to move forward with the investigation.
Reflecting on the phone call with CNN’s Dana Bash, Pelosi, who rarely shares details from her private conversations, said she included the specifics in the book "because it was the basis for how to go forward. He was saying, ‘It was a perfect call, it was a perfect call.’ And I was saying it was a perfectly clear call, and we will be going forward.”
Trump communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to CNN, “Sounds like Nancy Pelosi continues to prove herself to be a liar and a fraud. Everything that comes out of her mouth is pure garbage, just like that fake title she gives herself because she can’t stop living in the past. What a loser.”
In December 2019, the House impeached Trump on a party line vote as the result of a Democratic-led investigation into allegations that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call to investigate his political rivals while withholding US security assistance and a White House meeting. But he was acquitted in the Senate in February 2020.
During the September phone call, Pelosi said Trump claimed she would be impressed with his “lack of pressure,” that he “didn’t threaten anyone” and “there’s no reason” to impeach him.
“I’ve done a great job as president,” Trump said and, according to Pelosi, kept repeating, “It’s very, very unfair.”
Pelosi, who referenced her decades long stint on the House Intelligence Committee, said in their conversation she pointed to the need to investigate the allegations stemming from an anonymous whistleblower complaint, and added her perspective.
“I do not believe that the president (needs to directly) make a quid pro quo to intimidate a foreign leader,” Pelosi told Trump.
“I didn’t do that,” Trump replied, to which Pelosi replied, “You withheld aid, and there is an inference drawn.”
As Trump continued to claim that his call with Zelensky was “flawless,” Pelosi responded, “We’ll find out. Don’t be afraid of it.”
“This is unfair,” Trump persisted. “The call was perfect.”
In her final reply to Trump before the end of the call, Pelosi said, “That call was perfectly clear. The truth will come out.”
Pelosi said she was scheduled to call Trump, but the former president beat her to it and placed the call at 8:16 a.m. ET that morning. That day, Trump was speaking to the UN General Assembly, and during the call, Pelosi said he complained that her announcement launching the impeachment inquiry would overshadow his speech.
“I was thinking, Well, good for you. That’s what you are doing today. I’m telling you what I’m doing today,” Pelosi wrote in her book.
Once the approximately 20-minute phone call with Trump ended, Pelosi reflected, “I’ve had a lot of conversations with this man, and at the end of nearly all of them, I think, Either you are stupid, or you think that the rest of us are.”
Novo livro descreve o aftermath do ataque contra o marido de Pelosi
Em seu livro, Pelosi dá sua descrição mais detalhada e pessoal do ataque violento contra seu marido, Paul, em outubro de 2022, que resultou na sentença do agressor para 30 anos de prisão.
Quando Pelosi foi acordada por sua equipe de segurança em Washington, DC, nas primeiras horas da manhã para ser informada do que havia acontecido em sua casa em San Francisco, ela não sabia se seu marido de quase 60 anos ainda estava vivo. Ela contou como foi caótico tentar informar seus cinco filhos, que estavam espalhados pelo país, do que ela sabia até então, antes que eles pudessem saber através de relatórios da imprensa.
Pelosi compartilhou que sua filha mais nova, Alexandra, lhe disse enquanto estavam na ICU após o ataque que ela lamentava que sua mãe tivesse entrado na vida pública.
“Se eu tivesse conhecido o que estávamos nos inscrevendo, se eu tivesse conhecido para onde isso iria, eu nunca teria dado minha bênção trinta e cinco anos atrás,” disse Alexandra, de acordo com Pelosi.
A antiga porta-voz expressou o profundo impacto que o ataque ao seu marido teve sobre ela e sua família - como os membros da família ainda evitam partes da casa onde o ataque aconteceu, como Paul nunca falou sobre o ataque com sua família e o impacto físico que ainda tem sobre Paul.
“Paul não era o alvo naquela noite, mas é quem pagou e ainda está pagando o preço fisicamente,” escreveu Pelosi. “E toda a nossa família está pagando o preço emocionalmente e traumaticamente.”
Após discutir a conversa contenciosa com Trump, Pelosi mencionou que o processo de impeachment foi uma resposta direta às suas ações, afirmando: "Eu não acredito que o presidente precisa fazer diretamente um quid pro quo para intimidar um líder estrangeiro."
Após o ataque violento contra seu marido em outubro de 2022, o agressor foi sentenciado a 30 anos de prisão, um desfecho que Pelosi detalhou em seu novo livro, afirmando: "Paul não era o alvo naquela noite, mas é quem pagou e ainda está pagando o preço fisicamente."
