Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi Representing the 12th District of California
Boston – Yesterday, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi virtually joined PBS News Hour co-anchor and co-managing editor Geoff Bennett at the Reframe Festival in San Francisco to discuss the future of Democratic leadership. The conversation was presented by PBS News in partnership with Bay Area member station KQED.
Click here to watch the full conversation.
Read key quotes from the conversation below:
On President Trump’s proposed Budget:
Speaker Emerita Pelosi. The budget that the President put out that we just are reviewing now is one that is really a shame.
A budget should be a statement of our national values. What is important to us as a nation should be reflected in that budget. It should be a budget of investing in our future for our children and the rest. And if you review the budget that the President put forth, he cuts education. Nothing brings more money to the Treasury than the education of the American people. Early childhood, K-12, higher education, post-grad, lifetime learning for our workers.
The best dollar you can spend in the federal budget, I do believe, is basic biomedical research. The biblical power to cure, to save lives, to save funds for families who are confronted with illness and the rest. The list goes on and on. And why? Because he says he has to cut so that he can be fiscally sound—at the same time as he’s giving enormous tax cuts to the wealthiest people in our country.
On Democrats choosing when to fight back:
Speaker Emerita Pelosi. You have to prioritize carefully and make the distinction so the American people can see what impact this has on their lives—carefully prioritizing and at the same time show the narrative, again, with some specific issues, show the narrative thematically of what he is doing to our country. Again: disgraceful, shameful, un-American.
So again, we always have this debate: whether we go for opportunity, security, all of those things or specific pieces of legislation—we do both.
On Leader Hakeem Jeffries:
Speaker Emerita Pelosi. Our Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, is a master of this: repetition. Prioritize and repeat. Repetition, repetition, repetition. He’s so eloquent, and he’s so forceful in getting the message across.
And we know what is going to make things different too—by using different platforms. When I was Leader, we won in ’06, we won in ’18. But now we have different platforms—taking messages to platforms where people receive their information much more instantaneously. And he understands all of that. I’m so proud of his leadership.
He has the unity of our Caucus, the brilliance, and the strategic thinking of a leader. And again, values that would be reflected in a budget put forth by the Democrats and Leader Jeffries.
On a new generation of Democratic leadership:
Speaker Emerita Pelosi. Well, I’m an advocate for it. I was very, very proud to step aside. I wish that we had been in the majority—we will be in about eighteen months. And the point is, when I became the Leader after Dick Gephardt, he very graciously—when I became Leader, he did not interfere. And I don’t interfere. It’s about a new generation of leadership, thinking differently, employing the different tools of communication that exist now, and again, having the unity of the Caucus to support what you’re doing—not only as Leader but the legislation that you would put forth.
But we have to make sure the public knows what is in their interest—their kitchen table interest—the cost of health care and prescription drugs, the cost of education, the cost of housing, all of it.
And compare where the Democrats are and where the Republicans are on all of it. And as I say, not only Hakeem, but the rest of the Leadership—Katherine Clark, Massachusetts, her state; Pete Aguilar from California; Ted Lieu from California—so many, all champions on messaging and champions for working families.
On a Republican cuts to the American safety net:
Speaker Emerita Pelosi. As far as Medicare, Social Security—they paid into this. It’s not an entitlement. This is their money. They paid into this for their whole working careers. And now they’re going to say, we’re going to cut this out because we need to save money so we can give tax cuts to the richest people in America?
No. No, we’re not doing that.
On repairing the damage President Trump is doing:
Speaker Emerita Pelosi. This is what we did in ’18. The President said, he said in the very distinguished way as he’s used to speaking, ‘Obamacare sucks.’
I hate to even quote him, but I hope my grandchildren aren’t listening. Obamacare doesn’t suck. It cures. It cures.
We went out there. We had 10,000 events around the country of people telling their stories. They didn’t talk about politics or provisions of the bill. They talked about their stories:
‘My baby was born with a heart condition.’
‘My wife had breast cancer.’
‘My mother — this or that.’
They told their stories and how that bill made a difference in their lives. Not only did we win the election, we won it with 40 seats—31 of them in Trump districts. People said to me afterward, ‘Aren’t you lucky that the Affordable Care Act—that health care—became such a central issue of the campaign?’
I said, ‘No, we weren’t lucky. We made our own luck.’
And that’s what we will do between now and the election.
We will win the House. Hakeem will be the Speaker. He’ll be historic in his leadership—as well as the other members of the Leadership—and all of it because of the courage of our Members to take the tough votes to get the job done.
On a potential peace deal in Ukraine:
Speaker Emerita Pelosi. I have no idea what it is that Putin has on Trump—politically, personally, financially, whatever it happens to be—that he should be kowtowing to Putin over and over again, saying that the Ukrainians started the war.
But forget about that. [Russia] came into this country. They raped the women. They did that in front of their children, in front of their parents.
They kidnapped the children—tens of thousands of them—sent them to Russia, far reaches of Russia. They murdered people in front of their family members. And they’re supposed to get land for that? That’s not where I am.
But I’m not the President of Ukraine. I respect whatever decision he makes. But for us to say Russia should get land in order to leave—after they’ve committed crimes against humanity? Crimes against humanity.
I don’t think Putin can go anyplace without getting arrested for his crimes against humanity—at least Europe recognizes that. Others recognize that—even if Donald Trump thinks that’s okay.
On her proudest accomplishment and legacy:
Speaker Emerita Pelosi. Of course, the Affordable Care Act. Because this was directly, directly beneficial to America’s working families.
And it’s about the national health care financial stability as well. But with all legislation, you want to do more. You don’t do more in terms of lowering the cost of prescription drugs.
We did that in the IRA, but we can’t do it totally. We have to do it in stages, and I would like to do it all at once. But we have to get it passed in the Congress.
What was the hardest thing? Well, I always knew we had the votes.
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