Nancy Pelosi calls Wolf Blitzer GOP ‘apologist’ in fiery interview

Testy exchange came as two discussed stalled efforts to pass coronavirus relief package

Pelosi (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer had an uncharacteristically fiery back-and-forth, as the top Democrat was grilled over the two parties’ failure to reach a new spending deal to rescue the economy and fight coronavirus.  

Mr Blitzer asked Ms Pelosi why she would not, as progressive congressman Ro Khanna and others have suggested, compromise on a bill, even if it fell short of the more than $2 billion Democrats in the House are pushing for.

Ms Pelosi responded by calling Blitzer an “apologist” 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,” the speaker said. “Ro Khanna, that’s nice. That isn’t what we’re going to do, and nobody is waiting until February.”

Tuesday’s testy conversation continued when the anchor pressed Ms Pelosi on why she did not deal with the president directly. The speaker often negotiates with senior Trump administration officials like Treasury secretary Stephen Mnuchin instead.

“What makes me so amused if it weren't so sad is how you all think that you know more about the suffering of the American people than those of us who are elected by them to represent them at that table,” Ms Pelosi said.  

The two parties remain at an impasse on the spending package. Democrats have twice passed a renewed round of stimulus spending in the House—a $3.4 trillion bill in May, and a scaled back $2.2 trillion package in early October—but Republicans so far haven’t taken these up in the Senate. Instead, they have offered a $1.8 trillion deal, as well as other efforts like a standalone bill to re-up parts of the Paycheck Protection Programme, which many Democrats viewed as insufficient counteroffers.

Last week, the president said he would quit negotiating entirely until after election day, only to later renege and push for more stimulus spending.