A serious proposal or master-level trolling?

Now that the Democrats have secured the House majority for the next session, one of the first tasks they face is selecting the next Speaker of the House. That’s not as easy as it sounds these days (just ask the Republicans), particularly when so many of the new, young guns in the freshman class ran on a promise not to support Nancy Pelosi. But plenty of establishment Democrats still respect Pelosi and want her to take back the gavel. It’s turning into a mess long before they’re even sworn in. But President Trump just threw yet another wrench into the works for them (or should I say he’s “monkeying it up?”) by giving his own endorsement to Pelosi and even suggesting he might scare up a few Republican votes to put her over the top.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1060162807960870913

In all fairness, Nancy Pelosi deserves to be chosen Speaker of the House by the Democrats. If they give her a hard time, perhaps we will add some Republican votes. She has earned this great honor!

To be clear, the President can’t force any of the Republicans to vote for Pelosi, but there are plenty of members in there who remain strong Trump supporters and would probably be willing to fall on their swords in the upcoming vote if he asked. Also, Trump can work with the House GOP leadership to figure out a list of names who could take on the burden.

But why? Assuming this isn’t just a complete trolling routine, this could actually be a cagey move for Trump. It’s not as if the GOP will be able to divide the vote to the point where they keep the speakership anyway, so why not get someone in charge who you think might be a bit easier to work with? Pelosi is on record as being far more cautious than many of the new young socialists in her caucus. She’s also steered clear of the idea of impeaching the President. She might be the least bad choice out there.

Plus, it’s a way for Trump to stir up trouble among the Democratic ranks. If the new, young socialists are all clamoring for new leadership but Trump puts Pelosi over the finish line, there will be a lot of hard feelings in the new House Majority. As an additional bonus, if the only way Pelosi can actually win is by taking Republican support, she comes out of the battle looking much weaker.

With all that in mind, this might actually be a case of Trump looking a few moves ahead on the board. Or, as I said, he could just be trolling the living daylights out of them.