American politician and former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi has addressed the trauma of October 28, 2022, when an individual broke into her home in San Francisco and attacked her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer.
The attack required surgeons to remove part of his skull to save his life. Pelosi mentioned she and her husband have not discussed the incident, with doctors advising against revisiting the traumatic experience.The assailant had been targeting her, and Pelosi has expressed feelings of guilt about the event.
In her book “The Art of Power,” she recalls her daughter suggesting she give up her political career following the attack, but Pelosi reflects on her family’s blame towards certain elements of the Republican Party for demonizing her over the years, reported CBS News.
“My husband and I have never talked about this,” Pelosi said. “The doctors have supported that, because they don’t want him to revisit it.” “He was looking for me,” she added. “Imagine the guilt of all of that – it’s just a horrible thing.”
Pelosi’s daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, urged her mother to leave public life after the attack. Pelosi reflects on this in her book and discusses the family’s perspective on who is to blame. “Well, I blame me. I mean, not blame me. I was the target. My family, frankly, blames certain elements of the Republican Party who had been demonizing me for about 20 years, every election and the rest – cloven feet, horns on the head, a horrible person, in flames, a devil, and all of that. The sad thing about my husband’s assault was that they just made a joke of it. They thought it was funny. And people laughed. So, [Trump] was an instigator of violence and then made light of it.”
In the interview with CBS News Correspondent, Pelosi addressed rumors about pressuring President Joe Biden to drop out of his re-election campaign. She denied leading any such effort, expressing confidence in Biden’s ability to make the right decision.
“Well, I’ve never shared any conversations with a President of the United States publicly, no,” Pelosi replied. “Well, he knows that I love him very much,” she said when asked if Biden was furious at her. “No, I wasn’t a leader of any pressure party. Well, let me say things that I didn’t do. I didn’t call one person. I did not call one person. I could always say to him, ‘I never called anybody.’ What I’m saying is, I had confidence that the president would make the proper choice for our country, whatever that would be, and I said that. ‘Whatever that is, we’ll go with.'”
When asked about Biden’s performance, Pelosi emphasized the importance of a more vigorous campaign and highlighted his accomplishments, such as leading the Nato Summit. “My whole point was, whatever he decides, but we have to have a more aggressive campaign.” “He was in a good place to make whatever decision – the top of his game,” Pelosi said. “Such a consequential President of the United States, a Mount Rushmore kind of President of the United States.”
Pelosi’s legacy as a leader in Congress spans 20 years, and she looks back on pivotal moments in her new book, “The Art of Power”. “There’s certain episodes of our history that I played a major role in. So, I wanted to write about that just to show my side of it, what happened in the room where it happened, where I was,” she said.
Pelosi recounted pivotal events such as the financial bailout, Covid relief, the Affordable Care Act, and the attack on the Capitol on January 6. She vividly remembers hearing the mob targeting her during the insurrection and saying, “Nancy, we’re coming for you, b****.”
“It was an insurrection instigated by the President of the United States. He now tries to disassociate himself from it, blaming it on me and everybody else. But that’s the way he is. This was instigated by him,” said Pelosi.
She also recalled her reaction to Trump’s statement about marching to the Capitol, expressing her willingness to confront him. “If he comes, I’m gonna punch him out for trespassing on the Capitol grounds. I’m gonna punch him out, and I’m gonna go to jail, and I’m going to be happy.” “I knew that I would have to pay a price, to go to jail,” Pelosi said, “but I would be happy to do that.”
Pelosi remains determined to prevent Donald Trump from returning to the White House, considering him a motivator for Democratic organization and fundraising. “He should never set foot again in the White House – never should have, and shouldn’t again.”
When asked about Trump’s choice of Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate, Pelosi responded with amusement. “I think it was a great choice!”
Pelosi also offered advice to Kamala Harris on how to handle the campaign against Trump. She said, “Just be yourself. It’s the same advice I give to women – be yourself.”
She then dismissed attempts to portray Harris negatively, suggesting a focus on everyday issues. “The opposition – the Trump people and he and JD Vance – are trying to portray Kamala Harris as being ‘weird.’ ‘She’s a radical, left-wing, San Francisco crazy lady. She’s weird and she’s nuts.'” “Well, the thing is, there’s no question that they understand I make people laugh at them. And that’s what they don’t like, is to be laughed at. On the other hand, what I have always said about Trump and now – I don’t know that much about Vance, but what we do know is menacing.” “So, what should Harris say? Just talk about kitchen-table issues – ignore him,” said Pelosi.
Though no longer in House leadership, Pelosi is running for re-election to her Congressional seat from San Francisco. On being asked if she had ever been asked to run for President, Pelosi said, “I haven’t been asked, but I was encouraged to put my name in there sometime for vice president. I said, ‘Why would I want to be vice president?’ I’m a legislator. I love legislating. People have to understand it’s serious work. I mean, you really have to listen. What is the judgment you bring as to what priorities can prevail? What is your strategy to get it done? It’s constant. It’s constant. And it’s being respectful of all kinds of points of view – inside maneuvering, outside mobilization. It’s great. I love being a legislator.”