Democratic lawmaker Nancy Pelosi has launched a blistering attack on President Donald Trump on the eve of key elections for her party, including a vote in California on a proposal for midcycle redistricting in response to redistricting by Republicans in Texas and elsewhere.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment by email after office hours.
Why It Matters
The comments by the former House speaker and longtime California representative come on the eve of two gubernatorial elections—in Virginia and New Jersey—and a mayoral election in New York.
Democrats hope to sweep all three votes, which are being seen as a barometer for Trump amid waning approval in the polls owing to frustration over the government shutdown and the state of the U.S. economy.
In California on Tuesday, voters will decide on a mid-decade redistricting proposal to secure more seats in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections in response to Republican efforts, backed by Trump, to do the same thing in states they control. Pelosi has been campaigning in support of the vote in California.
What To Know
Pelosi, 85, told CNN that she was confident voters would pass the proposal. When the conversation turned to Trump’s role in the political process and the government shutdown, she paused, searching for words, and said: “How can I say this? It will sound like I’m awful about Trump because he’s just a vile creature, the worst thing on the face of the earth.”
Asked whether she really thought that, she said: “I do, because he’s the president of the United States and he does not honor the constitution of the United States.”
“In fact, he’s turned the Supreme Court into a rogue court, he’s abolished the House of Representatives, he’s chilled the press…he’s scared people who are in our country legally,” she said.
Earlier in the interview, Pelosi, who is serving her 20th term representing California’s San Francisco congressional district, had declined to engage when asked if she thought Trump “was not a good person.”
“I’m saying that his policies are not good. I don’t know what his…let’s not go into that,” she said with a laugh.
Trump and Pelosi have clashed repeatedly over the years. In August, Trump called her a “disgusting degenerate” in a social media post and he has also accused Pelosi of insider stock trading, which her office has consistently denied.
The White House’s Rapid Response 47 account on X did not pull any punches in its reaction to Pelosi’s comments.
“Crazy Nancy has been reduced to muttering about how President Trump ‘is just a vile creature’ and ‘the worst thing on the face of the Earth,’” the White House account said.
“Very sad to see what little was left of her addled, demented mind evaporate as she becomes fully engulfed in hatred. Sick!” the post said.
What People Are Saying
Nancy Pelosi, Democratic representative for California, told CNN: “The fact is, the president wanted to rig the system because he knew he would lose. People said: ‘Well, two wrongs don’t make a right.’ We don’t like redistricting mid-decade; we don’t think that that’s right. But the fact is, we have self-defense for democracy.”
What Happens Next
Pelosi is expected to announce the path of her career, whether that be retirement or reelection, following the November 4 special election in California on the congressional redistricting ballot measure.
