'I Pray for the President All the Time.' Nancy Pelosi Had an Angry Response When Asked If She Hates Trump

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had sharp words when she was asked whether she hates President Donald Trump after she told Democrats to begin drafting articles of impeachment against him on Thursday.

Pelosi, at her weekly press conference, responded angrily to the question from Sinclair TV network reporter James Rosen as she was walking away from the podium.

“I don’t hate anybody,” Pelosi said, turning back toward reporters. “I was raised in a Catholic house. We don’t hate anybody. Don’t accuse me of hate.”

Pelosi added that moving ahead on impeachment against Trump had nothing to do with hatred, nor with her many disagreements with the President regarding his policies.

“I think this President is a coward when it comes to helping our kids who are afraid of gun violence. I think he is cruel when he doesn’t deal with helping our Dreamers, of which we are very proud. I think he is in denial about the climate crisis,” Pelosi said.

“However, that’s about the election. This is about the Constitution of the United States and the facts that lead to the President’s violation of his oath of office.”

She added: “And as a Catholic, I resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me. I pray for the President all the time. So don’t mess with me when it comes to words like that.”

Following the press conference, Trump tweeted that Pelosi “just had a nervous fit.”

“She says she ‘prays for the President,'” he said. “I don’t believe her, not even close.”

Earlier Thursday, Trump angrily responded to Pelosi’s impeachment announcement, saying the “Do Nothing, Radical Left Democrats have just announced that they are going to seek to Impeach me over NOTHING.”

Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com.