From this afternoon’s joint “Squad” press conference. Between Omar trying to drag the caucus towards the nuclear option and Trump doubling down on his “go back to your country” shtick on Twitter a few hours ago, Pelosi must feel like she’s in a Twilight Zone episode. She has zero control over Trump and is losing control over the left wing of her own caucus, with all of this likely to get nastier and higher-stakes the closer we get to an election. She’s riding a tiger that’s fighting with another tiger. She might as well retire before she gets mauled.

We will never be a Socialist or Communist Country. IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY HERE, YOU CAN LEAVE! It is your choice, and your choice alone. This is about love for America. Certain people HATE our Country….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2019

….They are anti-Israel, pro Al-Qaeda, and comment on the 9/11 attack, “some people did something.” Radical Left Democrats want Open Borders, which means drugs, crime, human trafficking, and much more….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2019

….Detention facilities are not Concentration Camps! America has never been stronger than it is now – rebuilt Military, highest Stock Market EVER, lowest unemployment and more people working than ever before. Keep America Great!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2019

I wonder if Twitter will end up banning him for violating its terms of service or whatever. Then it’ll be really lit.

The million-dollar question after this presser is whether Pelosi knew that Omar was going to call for impeachment, urged her not to, and was ignored or if she had no idea it was coming. She’s been on the outs with the Squad lately, as we’re all aware, and she obviously can’t stop them from talking to the media. But this is no ordinary presser; this is heavy national exposure in reply to some of Trump’s most inflammatory comments yet as president. Trump has raised public interest in these four and now here they are in a spotlight. Inevitably, to some extent their message tonight will be seen as the Democratic Party’s message, so you’d expect to have the Speaker exerting some influence over what they had to say behind the scenes. Did she? It’s worth contrasting the key points made by the various member. Ayanna Pressley’s takeaway was for people not to let Trump distract them from things like detention conditions at the border, which is fine for Pelosi and the rest of the party. AOC’s message was that she’d never want to leave a country she loves so much, also fine for Pelosi’s caucus. Omar’s message, though? Impeach the SOB. Not so fine. Did she go rogue?

Republicans aren’t handling today’s events smoothly either. Some are trying to out-Trump Trump…

There’s no question that the members of Congress that @realDonaldTrump called out have absolutely said anti-American and anti-Semitic things. I’ll pay for their tickets out of this country if they just tell me where they’d rather be.

— Rep. Ralph Abraham (@RepAbraham) July 15, 2019

…some are doing the opposite…

GOP Sen. Joni Ernst asked if she thinks Trump tweets are racist: “yes I do. They are American citizens”

— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) July 15, 2019

…and others are choosing their words carefully, as they’re wont to do:

The president’s comments were destructive, demeaning, and disunifying. The President of the United States has a unique and noble calling to unite the American people – of all different races, colors, and national origins. In that respect, the president failed badly.

— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) July 15, 2019

People can disagree over politics and policy, but telling American citizens to go back to where they came from is over the line.

— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) July 15, 2019

Romney has spent most of the day fielding questions about this from reporters and trying his hardest to signal strong disapproval without explicitly calling Trump’s comments “racist.”

Here’s video of the presser. I’ve cued it up to Omar’s remarks but skip around to watch whoever else you like. One of the charges leveled by Omar against Trump here is that he’s been credibly accused of colluding with a foreign government, which I thought had been investigated and the accusations found not so credible. Ah well. Exit question: If it’s this nasty now, how nasty will the 2020 campaign be? Especially if Kamala Harris is the nominee.