Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) book, “The Art of Power,” was released Tuesday and the California Democrat has been speaking to the press about what is in the pages, while also dropping noteworthy comments she’s been hearing from Republican colleagues.
Speaking to MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Wednesday, Pelosi revealed that Republicans have told her that if Democrats can simply defeat Donald Trump, they might be able to rebuild the GOP without the same far-right ideologues who control their party now.
“The Republican Party has been hijacked,” Pelosi said. “It is now a cult, and they should take it back because the public needs a strong Republican Party. The Grand Old Party, great things they’ve done for the country, great leadership that they have provided and what now? What now?”
Then she dropped the bombshell:
“Some of the Republicans have told me you have to beat them in the general because we can’t beat them in the primary, and then we will come back to our debate on the issues. What has been the role of government since the beginning of our country? It’s just the competition of ideas and the excitement of it all.”
Pelosi also addressed criticisms that that she gave Republicans an “out” in the debate around the elimination of Roe v. Wade when she pushed a messaging bill stating that women have the right to access contraception.
“However, when we put on the floor a bill that said women have a right to contraception, some people were like, why are you doing that? You’re giving them an out. They’re going to look sane for a change,” she recalled. “Eight republicans voted that women have a right to contraception; 195 said no. So, again, when we’re talking about the creation of jobs, freedom — freedom of women.”