Nancy Pelosi says Trump needs an ‘intervention’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she wishes President Trump’s family would stage an intervention to stop him from his behavior.

“That’s up to his family and his Cabinet and his staff in the White House. This is not behavior that rises to the dignity of the office of the president of the United States,” she said.

Mrs. Pelosi also referred to the use of “Article 25” — presumably the 25th Amendment, which includes provisions for the Cabinet to remove a president from office.

“That would be good, Article 25,” she told a New York Times reporter. “That’s a good idea, I’m glad you suggested it. I’ll take it up with my caucus — not that they haven’t been thinking about it.”

Her comments came a day after she and the president blew up at each other. She said he was engaged in a cover-up, and he canceled a meeting to talk infrastructure, saying he wouldn’t work with Democrats as long as they were pursuing a rash of investigations against him.

Afterward, she said Mr. Trump was ill-behaved, and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, who was also in the meeting, said the president threw a temper tantrum.

Mrs. Pelosi said Thursday she knew the word “cover-up” would anger the president — but she defended her decision to use it, saying she’s accused him of it before.

She said he was looking for an excuse to cancel their meeting — but said his behavior was out of bounds.

“I wish that his family or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country,” she said.

Mr. Trump replied at a press conference Thursday afternoon, calling Mrs. Pelosi “crazy” and a “mess.”

“She’s disintegrating,” the president said, adding that he’s watched her for years and “she’s not the same person, she’s lost it.”

Mr. Trump also called on several aides to attest that he was calm during a meeting with Mrs. Pelosi and other top Democrats a day earlier, when he was accused of losing his temper.

“You were very calm,” senior adviser Kellyanne Conway confirmed.

Mr. Schumer, who earlier Thursday said the president threw a “temper tantrum,” used more judicious language Thursday evening,

“The president was not loud, but he was agitated,” the New York Democrat said, adding that he was irked at Mr. Trump for canceling the meeting. “Presidents don’t walk out.”

Mrs. Pelosi said the president was trying to orchestrate distractions after a court ruling earlier this week that said the House has the power to conduct broad investigations.

For her own part, she’s been trying to tamp down on calls from leaders and rank and file members of her caucus to take more aggressive action against the president, including starting the impeachment process with a formal inquiry.

The speaker, though, insisted her troops are unified behind her more methodical approach. She said it’s Mr. Trump who’s trying to bait them into pursuing the divisive path of impeachment.

“The White House is just crying out for impeachment. That’s why he flipped out yesterday,” she said.

Mr. Trump said as long as her troops are focused on investigating him, he’s not going to be in a mood to cooperate on policy.

“Let them get rid of the nonsense first and when that’s done it’ll go very quickly,” he said.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Mrs. Pelosi was the one who orchestrated the blowup this week.

She scheduled a special meeting of House Democrats on Wednesday morning to talk about investigations and impeachment, and then walked out to the cameras to accuse Mr. Trump of a cover-up.

“This is irresponsible. This is not a way to govern,” Mr. McCarthy said.

Mr. McCarthy pointed out that Mrs. Pelosi herself is second in the line of presidential succession, giving her a personal stake in the outcome of ousting the president.

⦁ Stephen Dinan contributed to this article.