Kamala Harris is the candidate, but Nancy Pelosi’s hold on the party is still strong, as the Speaker Emerita made clear Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“I know that Vice President Harris is ready to take us to new heights,” said the longtime congresswoman from California’s 11th district in a primetime address to a packed United Center, one day before the first Black woman ever nominated for president by a major American political party takes the same stage. “Politically, she is astute and strategic in winning difficult elections, quickly securing the nomination with dignity and grace and choosing Tim Walz as our vice president,” Pelosi added in the highest praise possible for such a political grandmaster.
In that context, in the complicated factions of the Democratic Party, Pelosi’s daughter put it best when she tweeted tonight:
Through her army of loyalists, the 84-year-old Pelosi is widely viewed as the pivotal force in the effort to see 81-year-old Joe Biden’s exit the scene after his debate debacle against Donald Trump live on CNN on June 27. The numbers crunching San Francisco politician, who grew up as Democratic Party royalty through her Baltimore Mayor father, has scoffed off tales of her role in the president’s ouster from the White House race.
Despite, Pelosi’s protests, not many people are buying The Art of Power author’s pleas of innocence. Which is probably why Pelosi opened her remarks with an extended “Thank you Joe!” to soothe over the resentment cracks in party unity.
At least for the moment, Pelosi even erased her own role in the legislative achievements of the past three years – all of whom she ushered through the Congress.
“On January 20, 2021, with the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we established one of the most successful presidencies of modern times,” Pelosi said.
“And we quickly proved that Democrats deliver – millions of jobs, stronger infrastructure and rural broadband, a Biden Child Tax Credit, rescuing human pensions, honoring our veterans, bold climate action, lowering the cost of prescription drugs,” she listed. “All thanks to President Biden’s patriotic vision of a fair America doing so with liberty and justice for all.”
As she praised one president, Pelosi unsurprisingly roundly condemned another.
“January 6 was a perilous moment for our democracy,” she said of her despised former foil of Donald Trump “Never before had a president of the United States so brazenly assaulted the bedrock of our democracy so lethally embraced political violence so willfully betrayed his oath of office,” Pelosi told her fellow Democrats on the attack on Congress that found many MAGA insurgents directly looking to attack her.
The crowd were certainly pro-Pelosi tonight, despite friction over the Biden situation. On cable news, there was at least one voice of dissent.
In a rare act of self-reflection, seasoned Pelosi basher Fox News even made a joke about coverage of the speech tonight – or rather, how they weren’t covering it. “I know you’re missing Nancy Pelosi right now,” Laura Ingraham told viewers with a near straight face. “We’re very sad about that.”
After Bill Clinton went long in his own speech, Pelosi seemed to clearly hurry through her own less than five minutes long remarks.
Overall tightening the schedule from the indulgence of the opening nights, the third day of the DNC saw moving words from family members of hostages held in Gaza, inspirational words and music from Stevie Wonder and a primetime introduction from Mindy Kaling. With Ava DuVernay, Lynda Carter, Captain Phillips scribe and Deadline Strike Talk podcast host Billy Ray, comedian Alex Eldeman among the Tinseltown contingency in the house, the star power was inching up as the marquee night loomed.
As well, Wednesday there were speeches from Republican Geoff Duncan, former Lt. Gov of Georgia, various Democratic leaders past, present and future, a scathing takedown of the GOP’s draconian Project 2025, and a killer set from House Speaker-to-be Hakeem Jefferies. Just before Pelosi, former president Bill Clinton spoke from the stage in a relatively low-key and McDonald’s punchline filled speech from the man who has never met a microphone he didn’t like. Later tonight, 2024 VP nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face the delegates after being in and out of Chicago and on the campaign trail with Harris.
Vice President Harris is set to address the delegates tomorrow night with her own acceptance speech.
