Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, issued a sharp warning about President Donald Trump’s behavior, telling ABC’s Jonathan Karl she has had enough of the president and questioning his mental fitness for office.
“I’ve had enough of him,” Pelosi said in an interview. “But I did see some of it in the news afterward, and I think it was a demonstration of his mental incapacity.”
The California Democrat, who will retire at the end of her term, pointed to Trump’s recent prime-time speech as evidence of what she called the president’s deteriorating mental state. Pelosi did not watch the speech live, citing her exhaustion with Trump’s behavior, but later viewed clips on news broadcasts.
Pelosi also highlighted Trump’s attack on filmmaker Rob Reiner after Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found stabbed to death in their home. The incident, which shocked Hollywood and political circles, prompted Trump to make public comments that Pelosi characterized as deeply inappropriate.
The former speaker’s comments reflect her long-standing opposition to Trump, which has intensified in recent months. In a Nov. 20, 2025, interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Pelosi called Trump a “vile creature” and described him as “the worst thing on the face of the Earth.” She later told Cooper those remarks were a euphemism and that she could have described him more harshly.
Pelosi elaborated on her concerns about the current administration, saying Trump is surrounded by worse people than during his previous term in office. She suggested that the president’s Cabinet is probably the worst in history, arguing that there are fewer checks on his behavior now than in his first administration.
The relationship between Pelosi and Trump has been contentious for years, marked by several high-profile confrontations. On Oct. 16, 2019, Pelosi stood up to Trump at a White House meeting in a moment that went viral on social media.
Perhaps the most memorable clash occurred on Feb. 4, 2020, when Pelosi tore up Trump’s State of the Union speech while sitting behind him during the address to Congress. Trump falsely claimed that tearing up the speech was “very illegal,” though no such law exists. Pelosi defended her action, saying she tore up the speech because it was a “manifesto of lies.”
Trump has responded to Pelosi’s retirement announcement with his own harsh words, calling her “evil and corrupt” and saying her departure from Congress is a great thing for America.
Beyond her criticisms of Trump, Pelosi has remained active in advocating for policy issues important to California and the nation. On Nov. 11, 2025, she used an event to highlight concerns about healthcare access under the Affordable Care Act.
At the event promoting Covered California’s open enrollment period, Pelosi warned that approximately 1.7 million Californians could see their premiums double if ACA tax credits expire on Dec. 31. She said about 400,000 Californians could be priced out of health insurance entirely, with around 40,000 San Franciscans who rely on Covered California facing significant cost increases.
Daniel Tsai, San Francisco’s director of public health, explained that Covered California covers people with incomes above the Medi-Cal threshold but for whom healthcare would otherwise be unaffordable. The open enrollment period for Covered California runs through Jan. 31, though residents are urged to sign up by Dec. 31 to lock in current premiums if the tax credits expire.
Pelosi’s advocacy for healthcare access stems from her role as a leading force behind the passage of the Affordable Care Act when she served as House speaker. She has said that Republicans’ refusal to renew the subsidies while proposing tax cuts for wealthy Americans demonstrates misplaced priorities.
As Pelosi prepares to end her congressional career, she has made clear that her concerns about Trump and his administration remain paramount. Her recent interviews suggest she views the current political moment as particularly dangerous, with fewer institutional guardrails to constrain presidential behavior than in previous years.
The congresswoman’s willingness to speak bluntly about Trump’s mental capacity marks a significant escalation in her public rhetoric, even as she approaches the end of her time in office. Her comments reflect a broader concern about the functioning of the executive branch and its impact on American democracy.
Pelosi’s decades-long political career has been defined by her skill as a legislative strategist and her ability to navigate complex political dynamics. Her departure from Congress will mark the end of an era in Democratic politics, though her final months in office suggest she intends to remain outspoken about issues she considers threats to the nation’s wellbeing.
Sources:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nancy-pelosi-trump-mental-incapacity_n_69560292e4b0570458f0b321
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/somethings-wrong-nancy-pelosi-sounds-064043393.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nancy-pelosi-trump-description_n_691e9043e4b0b763ab8dd370
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jan-6-violence-lie_n_695d2e09e4b04774721efef7/amp
https://sfist.com/2025/11/11/pelosi-calls-out-republicans-over-healthcare-subsidies-says-400k-californians-could-be-priced-out/
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/dems-trump-repeal-prescription-cost-lowering-1235247832/
https://www.newsweek.com/lindsey-graham-calls-out-two-mistakes-donald-trump-made-first-week-2020998
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-auctions-off-a-painting-of-jesus-then-offers-to-sign-it/ar-AA1TpYYJ
