House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., thinks Donald Trump is a thief.

In a Rolling Stone interview published Sunday, Pelosi claimed Trump "stole" one of his signature campaign slogans, "drain the swamp," from the Bush-era Democrats. "That was ours. [Trump] stole it from us. 'End the culture of cronyism, incompetence and corruption.' That was our thing," Pelosi lamented, reflecting on the party's strategy in the 2006 midterms.

Pelosi did say she would "drain the swamp" in 2006. But even if you accept her premise, Pelosi clearly had something of a hand in making Trump's heist easier. After all, it's a little rich for someone who endorsed Hillary Clinton to complain about her opponent latching onto the themes of cronyism and corruption. It's kind of a layup.

Clinton's trail of cronyism and corruption is largely what enabled a brash and inexperienced reality television star to defeat her, the former secretary of state, in a presidential election. And those concerns were bipartisan, fueling the shockingly successful primary challenge Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was ultimately able to mount against her. But Clinton was always a blind spot for establishment Democrats, who expected their voters to crown her the nominee and spare the party a painful primary process.

Apparently that self-awareness problem is still very real for Democrats. Like "hope and change," "drain the swamp" is a more anti-establishment message than partisan, which is why it worked for a businessman running in his first campaign for elected office (even though that same man was donating to Democrats, Clinton included, through the 2006 campaign cycle Pelosi mentioned).

To beat Trump in 2020, Democrats will try hard to prove the president represents the swamp he decries, and not for a total lack of material. But that will be much more difficult if they can't find a fresh face with none of the baggage Clinton carried. Half the battle, however, would be to recognize those faults as baggage in the first place.

Trump didn't steal "drain the swamp." Democrats forfeited their claim to the cause by nominating Clinton.