Appearing for an interview on MSNBC on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she does not regret threatening to punch then-President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, if he came to the Capitol, but “he wouldn’t have had the courage to come to the Hill. He is all talk.”
“That’s right,” Pelosi told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell when asked to address her comments about Trump on January 6. “I would have punched him out. I said I would have punched him out. I would have gone to jail. And I would have been happy to do so.”
Mitchell followed up to ask if she would have punched Trump. Pelosi said: “He wouldn’t have had the courage to come to the Hill. He is all talk.”
When asked if she would support a criminal referral of Trump if he refuses to comply with the committee’s subpoena, Pelosi said, “That’s going to be up to the committee. Again, I keep my distance.”
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Last week, CNN revealed previously unseen footage showing the speaker reacting to her staff sharing reports that Trump was trying to come to the Capitol.
“If he comes, I’m going to punch him out. I’ve been waiting for this. For trespassing on the Capitol grounds, I’m going to punch him out. And I’m going to go to jail, and I’m going to be happy,” Pelosi said in the footage.
Mitchell asked Pelosi to address members of her own party who are calling for a new generation of Democratic leadership as they campaign ahead of the November midterms.
“I say, just win baby. Just win. If that’s what you have to say to win, fine. And we will not, in any way, do anything but totally supportive, mobilization-wise, message-wise, money-wise, for those people to win their races,” she said before adding: “Yes, we need generational change, of course we do. But, in some cases, there’s no substitute for experience.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “I said I would’ve punched [Trump] out, I would’ve gone to jail, and I would’ve been happy to do so for our country.”
MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell: “Would you have done that?”
Pelosi: “He wouldn’t have had the courage to come to the Hill. He’s all talk.” pic.twitter.com/HRZTJK6uLX
— The Recount (@therecount) October 18, 2022
