House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused CNN’s Wolf Blitzer of being a Republican hack Tuesday when asked why the Democratic leader won’t accept the GOP proposal for a new $1.8 trillion coronavirus spending package.
Blitzer kicked off questioning by presenting Pelosi with testimony from members of her own caucus urging her to endorse the Republican deal that is nearly double what their colleagues across the aisle proposed at the start of negotiations.
“People in need can’t wait until February. $1.8 trillion is significant and more than twice Obama stimulus,” Blitzer read from a tweet by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California. “Make a deal, put the ball in McConnell court.”
Pelosi suffered an on-air meltdown and lashed out at Blitzer in response, hilariously accusing Russia hoax propellant CNN of playing interference for Republicans.
“What I say to you is, I don’t know why you’re always an apologist, and many of your colleagues, apologists for the Republican position,” Pelosi said. “Ro Khanna, that’s nice.”
Speaker Pelosi to CNN's Wolf Blitzer when he calls her out for refusing to make a deal on COVID-19 relief:
"I don’t know why you’re always an apologist and many of your colleagues are apologists for the Republican position." pic.twitter.com/WHvnG3kOf3
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) October 13, 2020
Pelosi also called Blitzer ignorant of congressional negotiations and the needs of a desperate public from whom Pelosi is withholding another deficit-funded federal bailout to keep the economy shut down, ostensibly because the amount of deficit funding it will entail isn’t high enough for her. The real reason is almost surely that Democrats don’t want to give President Trump a political boost heading into the November election.
“You evidently do not respect the chairmen of the committees who wrote these bills,” Pelosi chastised. “I wish you would respect the knowledge that goes into meeting the needs of the American people.”
Pelosi continued, accusing Blitzer of “defending the administration all this time with no knowledge of the difference between our two bills and I thank you for giving me the opportunity to say that to you in person, virtually.”
As Blitzer began to wrap up the interview “to leave it on that note,” reminding viewers that “these are incredibly difficult times right now,” Pelosi interrupted again and again, refusing to allow Blitzer have the last word.
“No, we’ll leave it on the note that you are not right on this, Wolf, and I hate to say that to you,” Pelosi said.
“It’s not about me, it’s about millions of Americans who can’t put food on the table, who can’t pay the rent and are having trouble,” Blitzer responded.
This isn’t the first time Pelosi has blasted reporters for asking basic questions about the House speaker’s negotiations. In August, Pelosi did the same to PBS’s Judy Woodruff when asked why Democrats were being pickier than Republicans about blanketing the country with more stimulus spending to enable economic lockdowns.
“They are saying they’re willing to show flexibility and they’re also saying a lot of the money that was passed in the spring, madam speaker, has not even been spent yet,” Woodruff said.
“If you want to be an advocate for them, Judy, if you want to be an advocate for them, let’s know what the facts are,” Pelosi said.
“No, I’m playing devil’s advocate here,” Woodruff said of the Republican position.
Pelosi also complained on-air about Brianna Keilar just a few days prior, telling the CNN reporter it was inappropriate to ask whether the speaker trusted White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on negotiations.
“Do you trust him as a negotiator, speaker?” Keilar asked.
“Well, that’s not an appropriate question for you to ask,” Pelosi said.
“How is that not appropriate if you’re negotiating with him?” Keilar pressed. “You must be able to trust him in order to negotiate.”
“He’s the representative of President Trump,” Pelosi responded. “That’s the relationship.”
