Former Speaker of the House and top Democratic figurehead Nancy Pelosi is under fire after some demonstrably false statements were made — to uproarious approval.
To wit, Pelosi spoke to Semafor on Wednesday, according to The National Desk.
As part of a bigger interview, Pelosi was eventually asked a relevant question: What happened to Pelosi’s prior calls for an open primary after incumbent President Joe Biden stepped down from seeking re-election?
As she was reminded of at the Semafor forum, Pelosi had previously advocated for having an actual primary contest post-Biden.
Instead, Vice President Kamala Harris was basically just slotted into the top spot of the Democratic presidential ticket.
When pressed on that fact, Pelosi didn’t offer much of an explanation.
“You had reportedly said you wanted a sort of an ‘open primary’ if Joe Biden stepped down,” the interviewer began. “Did you change your mind because you saw all the excitement around Kamala Harris?”
“No, I didn’t change my mind,” Pelosi said. “We had an open primary, and she won it. Nobody else got in the race.”
(Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did attempt to run against incumbent President Joe Biden in a primary when the latter was still seeking re-election.)
Was Kamala Harris’ ascension legit?
Pelosi continued: “Because she was politically astute and …”
At this point, the California representative trailed off as a receptive audience clapped for her.
The viral moment was captured by the Trump campaign:
Crazy Nancy: “We had an open primary and [Kamala] won it. Nobody else got in the race.”
Yes, it totally was an open primary and definitely not a coup. pic.twitter.com/akjU8zPM8W
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 18, 2024
While the Semafor audience may have appreciated Pelosi’s lie, others across social media did not.
Conservative commentator Drew Hernandez blasted the whole thing.
“Nancy Pelosi is just straight up lying now claiming Democrats had an open primary after Joe Biden was pressured to step out of the race,” Hernandez posted to X. “She’s claiming Kamala Harris won the open primary.
“Not one person voted for Kamala Harris to be the 2024 nominee.”
Some big names, like tech mogul Elon Musk, seemed to agree with the sentiment that Pelosi’s remarks were dishonest.
“Maybe she’s just trying to illustrate what misinformation means,” Musk jokingly posted to X.
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