House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said on Wednesday that American voters elected President Donald Trump and they don’t want to hear Democrats criticizing him, which “disrespects” their decision.
“(The voters) don’t want to hear us criticizing the president,” Pelosi said. “This was a choice; they made a decision.”
“And to criticize the president personally is to disrespect their judgment,” Pelosi said. “So I say to my members, ‘This is about what we’re going to do.’ ”
Pelosi, who was speaking to the editorial board and reporters at the Denver Post about the Democrat economic agenda before she attended a “progressive women’s event” in Denver, weighed in on a number of issues.
Pelosi said it’s too early to judge Trump on the response to tropical storm Harvey.
“We haven’t seen it. He’s been gracious, he went to Corpus Christi, which is sort of appropriate for him to do, because in the heart of the storm. It would be a challenge to accommodate a president,” Pelosi said, adding that she is worried about Trump’s proposed cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in his fiscal year 2018 federal budget.
“You can’t do that,” Pelosi said, adding that the issue will be on the table when Congress reconvenes in just a few days.
After the violence perpetrated by Antifa activists in recent weeks, Pelosi finally issued a statement condemning them and told the Denver Post violent acts should be “prosecuted.”
“I think if there’s some people who are acting in a violent way, that they should be prosecuted,” Pelosi said. “I don’t care who they are, where they are, whatever organization they belong to.”
“You’re talking (about) some individuals,” Pelosi said. “You’re not talking about the far left of the Democratic Party — they’re not even Democrats.”
“A lot of them are socialist or anarchist or whatever,” Pelosi said. “Violence by anybody is to be rejected and dealt with, but that’s not who we are.”
Pelosi said she vows to “fight the Republicans on what they want to do on the tax bill” and praised Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Ohio Gov. John Kasich for their healthcare proposal.
Pelosi also said Democrats running in upcoming elections should not “worry” about her future as a House leader.
“I just say to people, ‘Just win your election. Don’t worry about me; you just win your election,’ ” Pelosi said, while acknowledging that Republicans have used her as an issue on the campaign trail.
“She suggested that Democrats should turn the question around and ask whether Republicans will support House Speaker Paul Ryan,” the Denver Post reported.
“When Republicans pose that question,” Pelosi said, “you know they’re talking about their own political bankruptcy.”