Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she doesn’t like to use Donald Trump’s name.
"It's like a curse word to me," Pelosi says.
Pelosi’s feelings about the former – and perhaps future – president were clear in an interview Wednesday with Spectrum News. The two battled when he was in the White House and she was House speaker, and Pelosi said she hopes he doesn’t make it to the Oval Office again.
“There's always been a level of anti-women, anti-gay, LGBTQ, anti-people of color [in the country],” she charged.
“There's always been some of that there, but he normalized it. And the things that he says are so damaging to our country coming together for a more perfect union and they're so damaging to our national security,” she continued, citing his comments about encouraging Russia to attack delinquent NATO allies, rhetoric about Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and other dictators, and reported statements about veterans.
“I think that right now, the biggest problem for our country is in the person of Donald Trump and the hate that he spews forth, and the disrespect that he has for our Constitution, and the disrespect he had for the office of president,” she said. “He was impeached twice, defeated once. I hope he's ready for another defeat.”
When asked if she was concerned for her or her family’s safety should Trump be reelected, Pelosi said she was, though she acknowledged that they’ve “already been attacked in our own home,” referencing the October 2022 assault on her husband, Paul Pelosi, by a man wielding a hammer. The attacker, a Canadian citizen who told jurors he believed news outlets lied about Trump and echoed far-right conspiracy theories in online postings, was convicted of federal charges connected to the assault late last year.
She also recalled that a supporter of Trump who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, "said they're going to put a bullet in my friggin head."
“That’s what I tell [members of Congress],” she said. “We stepped into the arena, but our families didn’t, and … it shouldn't happen that way. And so we have to, if we win this election, do so in a unifying way to bring people together.”
“Of course we have differences,” Pelosi added. “I've been here a long time. I've worked with Republicans over the years. Now it's kind of a different thing because they're dictated to from outside — rather than outside by their constituents, outside by one person who has no patriotism, no commitment to his oath of office to protect and defend, no respect for the office that he held, and really a dangerous person who should never have been in the White House. And we have to make sure he isn’t again.”
Pelosi, who stepped down from her Democratic leadership role last year, told Spectrum News that she stayed in Congress to help President Joe Biden’s reelection effort. Pelosi, for her part, is participating in a national organizing call with Biden and former President Barack Obama to mark the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, mobilizing supporters and volunteers to protect the landmark health care law which has been a target of Trump and Republicans in Congress.
“It's not just about me, but I do continue to support politically, and that one of the reasons I stayed was because we have to elect Joe Biden President of the United States,” she said. “We have to elect a Democratic Congress. We just must. That means House and Senate. So my ability to do that is enhanced by still being here.”
She also sought to dispel the notion that Biden, who is 81, is too old to run for president again, quipping: “Frankly, he’s younger than I am.” (Pelosi turns 84 next week.)
“I can tell you this from personal experience: As you serve, you gain knowledge, you gain wisdom,” Pelosi said. “You have improved judgment, and this is a president … who has a beautiful vision for the future. He knows why he wants to do this. He knows the subject matter. He's been here a long time. So he knows what has worked, what hasn't and what the possibilities are.”
But polling continues to show concerns about the age of the president — dwarfing, in many instances, similar concerns about Trump, who is just three years Biden’s junior.
“[Biden’s] not that much older than what's his name, but nobody seems to make a fuss about what's his name,” Pelosi said, referencing Trump.
"And that's just really what is so funny to me, including the press, just always saying, ‘Well, he's old now.’ Yeah, the other guy's old too," she added.
“I understand how people would rather see somebody younger, but Joe Biden is doing fabulously well in the primaries, so people are voting for him even though they'd rather be younger,” she added.
Spectrum News has reached out to Trump's reelection campaign for response to Pelosi's comments.
Pelosi also addressed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s recent speech about the war between Israel and Hamas, during which the New York Democrat — the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in U.S. history — called for new elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. His comments were rebuked by Israeli officials, as well as Republicans and even some Democrats in Congress for interfering in another country’s elections.
When asked if she agreed with Schumer’s call, Pelosi replied: “I thought it was a very courageous speech. I congratulated him on it. It was a speech of courage. And it was a speech of love for for Israel.”
Pelosi said that Schumer “spoke from the head and from the heart” about his support for Israel and his comments are being “mischaracterized.”
“I say to people, read the speech. He talks about the problem that Hamas is and how horrible Oct. 7 was,” she said, referencing the surprise attack on Israel that left 1,200 dead. “He talks about the lack of leadership on the side of the Palestinians to be good, to be strong partners for peace. He talks about the radical right-wing cabinet in Israel and he talks about Netanyahu being a problem.”
She charged that Netanyahu “isn't interested in peace, he’s only interested in his own political survival,” adding: “I support the leader and what he said, and I understand how heart-rending it was for him to make such a statement.”