Pelosi At 'U' Event: If Election Were Today, 'We Could Win It All'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said the national Republican Party has been hijacked by Donald Trump and his supporters.
Pelosi spoke Tuesday morning in Minneapolis at the Humphrey School of Public Policy at a time when the Presidential campaign is in turmoil and the Republican Party in a civil war.
The Democratic Minority leader raising the possibility of a "wave" election, with Democrats taking the House and Senate as well as the White House.
Pelosi said the drumbeat of bad Donald Trump news has put the White House out of Republican reach, flatly predicting a Hillary Clinton win.
"She will be president," Pelosi said with a shrug.
Trump is fighting the fallout from a vulgar video tape and a public divorce with Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, who says he will no longer campaign for Trump, or defend him.
Pelosi calling it a real possibility Democrats could re-take the House and Senate.
"I feel very confident that if the election were held today, we could win it all," she said. "But the election isn't today -- 28 days is 28 eternities."
The former Democratic House Speaker was in Minnesota to raise money for Democratic Congressional candidates Angie Craig in the 2nd district, and Terri Bonoff in the 3rd District, who are running competitive races.
But even if both of them win: Humphrey School Professor Larry Jacobs calls it unlikely Democrats will take the House.
"No. I think there is no chance," said Jacobs. "They have to pick up 30 seats, and they are just not there."
Jacobs says while a Democratic takeover in the House is unlikely, a Democratic takeover in the Senate, or a tie, is a real possibility now.
He said Democrats need just five seats to win, and four to tie, and Republican disarray may boost their chances.
Pelosi's visit came during a Tuesday Twitter tirade by Donald Trump against fellow Republicans, during which he said "the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to."
Pelosi wondering what it might mean for the rest of the campaign.
"If you have a temperament that felt shackled, God knows what happens after that," she said.