In her column “It’s Nancy Pelosi’s Parade,” New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd argues this week that Nancy Pelosi has “offered a master class, with flair and fire, on how a woman can spar with Trump.” But how true is that assertion?

An ageing president with increasing displays of cognitive decline is presently shepherding in a far-right future for the United States, complete with concentration camps reportedly housing migrant children in conditions no human being should have to endure. As Trump does all of this with the sort of bellicosity expected of an entitled narcissistic bigot with a lifelong chip on his shoulder and penchant for grifting, there is Nancy Pelosi… not even taking a stand with an impeachment inquiry.

But we needn’t go there to counter the narrative Pelosi’s purported mastery of Trump — just look at her recent handling of $4.6 billion package intended to deal with the border crisis that is an invention of the Trump administration’s incompetence and cruelty.

The bill has been criticized for failing to set standards for the humane treatment of migrants held in federal custody. After all, why would anyone trust Trump and co with money designed to benefit migrants not from Norway? When asked about the criticism about the bill — namely that four first-time House Democratic women with national profiles voted against it — Pelsoi elected to be dismissive of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaid. She was dismissive not only of their concerns, but the platforms each of them have built by virtue of speaking truth to power in ways Pelosi appears to have struggled with.

“All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” Pelosi explained to Dowd. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.”

Nancy Pelosi had no problem posing with some of these women when it was time for a Rolling Stone cover story that boosted her legacy. Heaven forbid some of them now fail to bend the knee when it comes strategy on how to best handle children locked in cages by a demagogue she’s too afraid to impeach.

AOC: 'I will be damned if the same politicians who refuse to act then are going to try to come back today and say we need a 'middle of the road approach' to save our lives'

This is not the first time Pelosi has taken a shot at AOC or failed Omar, but it’s still disappointing to see her ridicule the nonwhite women in her caucus more than the man they’re all supposed to oppose.

As for the president, Pelosi says that on the daily, Trump “practically self-impeaches by obstructing justice and ignoring the subpoenas.” Spoiler: self-impeachment is not a thing and Trump has just reached the highest approval rating of his presidency. Pelosi and the Democratic leadership’s shared failure to paint in plainest terms the damage Trump has done to this country to the public — crimes, human rights abuses, corruption, and other malfeasances — is to help normalize them. Merely saying “this is not normal” does nothing if one’s actions don’t lend credence to cries of urgency.

Meanwhile, the women Pelosi snidely mocked for having “their public whatever and their Twitter world” continued to prove that they are fast becoming the moral compass of the Democratic Party.

“You know, people like us, people like me and Ayanna, Ilhan and Alexandria, we’re reflective of our nation in many ways,” Tlaib said in an interview with ABC News’ This Week. “Guess what? We know what it feels like to be dehumanized. We know what it feels like to be brown and black in this country. And I’ll tell you right now, we’re not going to stand by and sit idly by and allow brown and dark-skinned children to be ripped away from their parents to be dehumanized.”

"All of us have these experiences that I think have been missing in the halls of Congress. Honor that, respect that, put us at the table. Let's come up with a solution together," she added.

“That public ‘whatever’ is called public sentiment,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country.”

Omar co-signed the sentiment on Twitter, noting, some are just “salty about WHO is wielding the power to shift ‘public sentiment’ these days, sis.”

Indeed, for months now we’ve heard about moderate Democrats upset that they’re being overshadowed by nonwhite women commanding disproportionate amounts of national attention.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

I’m bored with the folk tale of Nancy Pelosi in which she drives the aspiring tyrant Donald Trump mad by using ironic turns of phrases such as “self-impeachment” while providing him more money to mistreat migrant kids he has ordered to be ripped out of the arms of their parents. I’m tired of acquiescence and appeasement being portrayed as audaciousness. Find cowardice a more fitting costume already.

Granted, Nancy Pelosi used to be that person. As Maureen Dowd notes, “in her first moments on the floor of the House in 1987, as the plague decimating gay men raged, she defied the advice of Democratic elders and sang out that she had come to Washington to fight AIDS.”