Nancy Pelosi criticized Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for blaming Kamala Harris’ election loss on Democrats who “abandoned working-class families.”
The fight began even before the vice president’s concession speech on Wednesday, when Sanders criticized his failed campaign in a social media post.
“We should not be surprised that a Democratic Party that has abandoned the working class finds that the working class has abandoned them,” the 83-year-old senator wrote.
‘While Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they are right.’
But former House Speaker Pelosi, 84, who remains a major figure within the Democratic Party, he told The New York Times podcast The Interview on Thursday he “completely disagreed” with Sanders and “does not respect” his comments.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for his claims that the Democratic Party “abandoned working-class voters.”
Kamala Harris lost the election in an embarrassing setback for the Democratic Party
He stated that the “purpose” of the Democratic Party is to support the working class and noted that Harris “was ahead of Bernie Sanders in Vermont.”
Pelosi said she has “great respect” for Sanders, “but I don’t respect him saying that the Democratic Party has abandoned working-class families.” That’s where we are.’
He then went on to recite what he considers achievements under President Joe Biden’s administration.
“For example, under President Biden, you see the rescue package, money in people’s pockets, shots in the arm, kids in school safety, workers going back to work,” he said.
‘What did Trump do, what was his name, what did Trump do when he was president? A bill that gave a tax cut to the richest people in America.
Instead, Pelosi suggested that cultural issues were to blame for Harris’ loss to former President Donald Trump.
Sanders shared his thoughts on Vice President Kamala Harris’ election loss hours before she gave a concession speech on Wednesday.
He wrote in
“Guns, God and gays: that’s how they see it,” the former spokesperson said of Trump supporters.
‘Guns, that’s a problem; gays, that is a problem and now they are making the trans issue such an important issue among their priorities; and in certain communities, what they call God, what we call a woman’s right to choose.’
But Pelosi didn’t stop there: She went on to place some of the blame for Harris’ loss on Biden’s refusal to leave the race early.
It took weeks after his disastrous debate with Trump in June for Biden to end his campaign for the presidency, and when he finally dropped out, he immediately endorsed Harris for the Democratic nomination.
“If the president had come out earlier, it’s possible there would have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi told the Times.
Pelosi, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, remains an important figure within the Democratic Party.
“It was expected that if the president stepped aside, there would be an open primary,” in which delegates from each state would vote on who they thought should be the Democratic nominee.
“And like I say, Kamala could have done it, I think she would have done well (in a primary) and (would have) been stronger in the future.”
But we don’t know that. That didn’t happen,’ he argued.
“And because the president endorsed Kamala Harris right away, that really made it almost impossible to have a primary at that time.
“If it had been much earlier, it would have been different,” he said, arguing that it is time to look forward and stop reflecting on what could have gone wrong.