“I have to say my decision [on retirement] will be affected about what happened the last week or two,” Pelosi told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
QUICK FACTS:
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made an appearance on Anderson Cooper’s CNN show “Anderson Cooper 360” her first sit-down interview following the attack on her husband in San Francisco.
- Cooper in the interview told Speaker Pelosi that there has been “a lot of discussion about whether you’d retire if Democrats lose the House,” inquiring about her political career post-midterms.
- He then asked, “Will your decision be impacted by the attack in any way,” to which Pelosi responded “Yes.”
- Pelosi added that having a political office is a “family decision,” noting that she does not believe this particular event will spur an “epidemic of violence,” although the House Speaker did suggest that “there has to be some message to the Republicans to stop, to stop the disinformation, because that is, without any question, a source of what happened on January 6th, and then the denial of all of that, and then the source of what is happening to me right now.”
- The interview aired Monday evening before midterms, leading some to speculate whether it was designed for political gain.
- Should Pelosi retire, many believe current Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will become Speaker of the House.
ELEMENTS OF THE INTERVIEW:
- While discussing the assault on Paul Pelosi, Anderson Cooper said, “There are obviously a lot of details in the affidavit, but I mean, had your husband not had the presence of mind to call 911 and be able to call 911, I mean, there’s no telling what would’ve happened.”
- NBC published an article suggesting Pelosi told police “everything’s good,” although the story was later pulled for not meeting “reporting standards.”
- Pelosi acknowledged she was the intended target of the attack, saying, “The President said, and I quote, ‘The assailant entered the home asking, ‘Where’s Nancy, where’s Nancy?’ – those were the very same words used by the mob when they stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th.'”
- Pelosi also called upon Biblical references in the interview, imploring Americans to “pray that God’s will will be done” and using the book of Ecclesiastes in saying “it’s time for healing,” across the nation.
BACKGROUND:
- Pelosi stated in 2018 she was considering one final term and proposed term limits for the speaker, majority leader, and majority whip.
- In June, American Faith reported that Paul Pelosi was arrested for driving under the influence, but still made “extraordinary profits” from the stock market during this time.
