In what was a very rough moment for Rep. Nancy Pelosi, she accidentally praised the former Secretary of State and failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for her leadership on democracy “when [she was] president.” Then, making it far worse, she dramatically caught her error and struggled to recover in a scene awkward for her and Clinton.
That happened during a conversation between the two leftist women that was hosted by Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). The topic on which they were speaking is the state of “democracy” around the world.
Kicking the conversation off, Clinton said, “Let’s start with this little matter of democracy, because I think you and I believe that it’s not just in our country, but that’s where we see it most clearly, there is a concerted effort to undermine some of the very foundations of democratic governance, of a democratic society. There’s research, some of it done by SIPA in this university, showing that half the world’s democracies are backsliding, and that includes, sadly, the United States. So, what do you, Nancy, view as the biggest threats and challenges facing our democracy and what are the opportunities to try to stop that backsliding and turn it around?”
Responding, Pelosi kicked things off with the awkward error, saying, “Well, I appreciate that question, but I also appreciate your leadership in this regard when president –.” But then Pelosi made it far worse, shifting in her seat while touching her hand to her chest, obviously uncomfortable, and declaring that she meant it was her “hope” back then that Clinton would be elected.
Continuing, Pelosi kept trying to recover, saying, “But when Secretary Clinton was in the Senate and first lady, but especially as secretary of State in more recent time – she has been and at that time implemented many things showing America’s support for democracy.”
She then ridiculously claimed that Hillary is the American who Russian President Vladimir Putin fears the most, saying, “It was her clarity and position to the present – Putin – present occupant leader of Russia, that made him turn around and ensure, in an illegal way, come out against her in her campaign and interference in our democracy by Vladimir Putin, because Hillary Clinton was the person he feared most in terms of his lack of democracy in Russia. That’s, I think, self-evident, so thank you for what you have done.”
That wasn’t Pelosi’s only awkward moment as of late. When speaking during a CUNY event, she was interrupted by four hecklers skewering her for her role in the Iraq war.
One heckler, for example, screamed that Pelosi belongs in the depths of hell for her involvement in the Iraq war, saying, “You know Pelosi, that’s a very good place for you in the depths of hell. For some reason, you have a very bad obsession of getting us into war. Hey, why is it that you did not admit that there were no WMDs in Iraq?”
Continuing, that same heckler yelled, “You lied us into a war in Iraq. You got us to invade Afghanistan. Now over 90 percent of those people are impoverished and are dying. Why don’t you tell the truth about Nordstream? Why did we destroy Nordstream? You’re leaving millions of Germans without energy. People like you should be arrested, you are a war criminal!”
"I came to see a warmonger, but you're a sad old drunk.” Facts. pic.twitter.com/d3OlK30mYl
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) April 5, 2023
