Nancy Pelosi Says She Knows How Democrats Should Handle Trump Voters

2 minute read

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has given instructions to her fellow Democrats for handling President Donald Trump‘s voters: treat them like a friend who has a “jerk” boyfriend.

“The way I told my members: It’s like telling your friend the guy she’s dating is a jerk,” Pelosi told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday, according to CNN. “You can’t tell her that. She has to find out for herself. You can give her clues and then eventually one thing will lead to another, she’ll come to her conclusion. But if you tell her right up front, you’ll lose a friend. So we’re not interested in losing any friends. Let them find out.

“They made a judgment and they’re not willing to walk away from their own judgment,” Pelosi added.

Matt Gorman, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, took issue with Pelosi’s comments, saying: “Leave it to a San Francisco liberal to belittle and condescend to the 63 million voters who called for real change last November. Pelosi’s comments underscore just how hard it’ll be for this out-of-touch party to compete across the country in 2018.”

Trump addressed Congress on Tuesday night.

 

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com