OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once again got testy with a reporter over a simple question about the octogenarian’s political future. After winning reelection for the 18th time last month — the California Democrat has served in Congress since the end of Ronald Reagan’s second term — a reporter wanted to know if she planned on completing her 19th term now that she will no longer be in a leadership role in her party.
“Will you commit to serving your full two-year term for the people of San Francisco?” a female reporter asked Thursday.
Pelosi could barely hide her contempt, both for the question and the correspondent.
“What is this? What is this?” she responded. “Don’t bother me with a question like that. Really. Really, OK? I said what I’m gonna do. You know?”
Only, Pelosi had not actually discussed the issue nor her political future.
“Those kinds of questions are such a waste of my time,” she added.
WATCH:
Reporter: "Will you commit to serving your full 2 year term for the people of San Francisco?"
Nancy Pelosi: "What is this? What is this? Don't bother me with a question like that. Really. Really, ok? Those kind of questions are such a waste of my time."pic.twitter.com/veYEdmbqpi
— Patriot News Alerts (@pxn45) December 16, 2022
Other users noted that it took Pelosi longer to chastise the reporter than it would have taken to simply answer the question with a “yes” or “no.”
“It took her longer to rebuff the question than answer it,” one user responded with a raised eyebrow emoji.
“Simply answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and ‘Next question.’ would have been a much less waste of time than her response,” said another.
“A waste of her time. Her response took more time than her answer would have,” another said.
“‘Silence, peasant’ vibe is strong with her,” still another user wrote.
The 81-year-old Speaker hinted that she might retire before the 2022 midterm elections, CNN reported last month:
After taking back the House in 2018, Nancy Pelosi called herself “a bridge to the next generation of leaders” and agreed to a deal: she’d serve again as speaker for no more than four years.
Time is now ticking — and no one knows what Pelosi will do in 2022.
Confidantes of the 81-year-old speaker reject any rumors she might quit before the end of this Congress, saying doing so would only embolden Republicans and undercut her ability to raise millions to save her party’s imperiled majority. She has yet to say if she will mount a reelection bid next year, though her campaign continues to raise millions in case she runs for the seat she’s held since 1987.
While Pelosi has previously indicated that this is her last term as speaker, she hasn’t completely shut the door quite yet, fueling speculation she could ultimately seek to prolong her 18-year tenure ruling the House Democratic caucus.
“Everyone assumes this is her last term, but no one knows for sure,” one of the confidantes said to CNN. “People don’t realize how hard it was to win (the speaker’s race) last time.”
But the source said they do not believe she would retire before the 2022 midterms.
“If she left early, she would be blamed for losing the House,” they said. “She doesn’t want to look like a loser.”
“I’ll let the drama, in terms of internal House dynamics, exist over on the Republican side of the aisle,” New York Democrat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who has since been elected leader of the party, said at the time. “We have a tremendous speaker, one Speaker at a time, and we all stand strongly behind her.”
New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the leaders of the progressives in Congress, wanted to move on from Pelosi.
“I feel like just the history of the party overall has been to almost sideline progressive priorities, racial justice priorities, priorities for the working class, health care, et cetera,” she said to CNN. “And I don’t think that any selection of leadership should ever be a de facto thing.”
“So it’s not just about an individual person,” she said. “It’s about: Who is our caucus? What is the moment? And what is the alignment at that time.”
Earlier during a CNN interview, before she had announced she would be running for reelection, Pelosi got testy with host Jake Tapper over the question.
You’re leading the way. Are you going to run for reelection?” Tapper asked.
“You think I’m going to make an announcement here and now?” Pelosi shot back.
“Yeah. Why not? You’re going to run for reelection, though, yes?” Tapper responded.
“Why would I tell you that now?” Pelosi added.
“It’s not just me, it’s the American people, the world,” Tapper said.
“I probably would have that conversation with my family first, if you don’t mind,” Pelosi responded.
