Trump supporters, instead of gloating, should consider why Pelosi’s stance is not crazy. For starters, Trump isn’t that effective. Judicial appointments aside, many of his more consequential and signature “achievements” (if you can call them that)—the Muslim ban, reducing regulations, the sequential summits with dictators and thugs—have been unilateral executive actions with no more staying power than Obama’s. Unlike Obama, Trump couldn’t shepherd a massive healthcare bill through Congress, or an infrastructure bill, or any other major legislation apart from a tax cut—and even Obama supported that.

If Trump were a hyper-effective politician whose every day in office saw the country and federal policy conform more and more to his worldview, the Democrat’s prime imperative would be to stem the bleeding. Obama was that sort of politician, and the shift of the country leftward during his presidency drove Republicans mad. If congressional Republicans had seen impeachment as a real possibility, they would have found justifications: Abuse of the IRS might have sufficed. Pelosi doesn’t think Trump presents a serious threat. He may even be an opportunity.