Molly Ball: “Conventional wisdom in Washington tends to treat impeachment as a fringe crusade, on a par with campaigns by anti­fluoridation activists or UFO ­enthusiasts, and views Pelosi as right to resist this momentum. Many believe it would be a political disaster for Democrats, galvanizing Trump’s base and alienating moderates. Republicans have taken to goading their opponents to try it, while White House officials say they relish the prospect of the Democratic Party tearing itself apart over the issue.”

“But Pelosi is actually playing a deeper game. Her aides note that she’s never ruled impeachment out. All she’s done, they say, is set a ­standard: ­increased popular support and some degree of GOP backing. Behind the scenes, she and her team are working to see that standard is met.”

Said one senior Pelosi aide: “The easy thing to do would be to start down the path of impeachment. That’s a trap. Now that we have the gavel and can expose all of this wrongdoing, I think you will start to see a shift in public opinion and movement of Republicans.”

New York Times: “After a series of misadventures, Mr. Trump has conspicuously laid off personal attacks aimed at Ms. Pelosi. Even as the standoff over funding a border wall appears to be finally ending with a deal seen as a defeat for the president, he has blamed unnamed Democrats but not their most prominent leader. And there has been no undermining Trumpian nickname — the president has said his moniker for Ms. Pelosi is, simply, ‘Nancy.'”

“Mr. Trump, who once stalked Hillary Clinton, the former Democratic nominee, around the presidential debate stage and continues to encourage ‘lock her up’ chants at his rallies more than two years later, simply gazed up at Ms. Pelosi during his State of the Union address — and then found himself the target of ridicule for the picture of her giving him what appeared to be a dismissive clap of the hands.”

“Without his anticipated punching bag, Mr. Trump has been left searching for an alternative, delivering haphazard attacks on Democrats as they announce their presidential campaigns, trial-and-error hits on an inchoate field of 2020 contenders.”

A new Quinnipiac poll finds American voters trust Speaker Nancy Pelosi more than President Trump, 49% to 42% “on issues that are important to you.” Independent voters trust Pelosi more than Trump by 49% to 36%.

Men trust Trump more, 48% to 42%. Women trust Pelosi more 54% to 37%.

White voters trust Trump more 52% to 42%. Black voters go to Pelosi 82% to 2% and Hispanic voters trust her more 62% to 27%.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that just because the federal government is expected to fully reopen soon does not necessarily mean the State of the Union address will take place next week, CNN reports.

Said Pelosi: “The State of the Union is not planned now. What I said to the President is when the government is open we will discuss a mutually agreeable date, and I’ll look forward to doing that and welcoming the President to the House of Representatives for the State of the Union when we agree on that.”

Alex Wagner: “Trump has intersected with powerful women before—Hillary Clinton, most notably—and showed little hesitation to diminish and demean. But Pelosi, who once joked to me she eats nails for breakfast, is a ready warrior. She is happy to meet the demands of war, whereas Clinton was reluctant, semi-disgusted, and annoyed to be dragged to the depths that running against Trump demanded.”

“The speaker of the House is, technically, a coastal elite from San Francisco, but she was trained in the hurly burly of machine politics of Baltimore by her father, Mayor Thomas D’Alessandro. It is not a coincidence that Pelosi has managed, over and over, to vanquish her rivals in the challenges for Democratic leadership: she flocks to the fight, not just because she usually wins, but apparently, because she likes it.”