Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, recently directed a much-hyped documentary about her mother called Pelosi in the House, which debuted Tuesday night on HBO. The rather obvious conflict of interest created a gushing look at Pelosi’s career with plenty lowlights from the cringe worthy to the outrageous.
After President Trump’s 2019 State of the Union, we see Pelosi lamenting, “There's so much crap in his speech. He lied so much and he fear-mongered so much. I mean, I wish I were free to say what I want to say about this, because this is a very dangerous man. A very dangerous man. He's hiding behind World War II, the Holocaust, children's cancer, and all the rest.”
We’re supposed to be impressed that a Democratic Speaker didn’t like a Republican president’s agenda. Still, we hear Alexandra informing her mother about the media’s reaction to her exaggerated clapping during the speech, “Okay Mom, here we go. You've set up an epic battle. The press are now saying it's you against the president.”
We then see Pelosi and staffers gawking at Washington Post stories, MSNBC chyrons, and various internet memes.
The documentary then goes back in time and reverts to a more chronological telling of Pelosi’s life and career. We are supposed to believe Pelosi was brave or impressive when she told the anti-war left that she would not impeach President Bush for Iraq War.
Viewers are also taken behind the scenes and shown Pelosi’s end of a phone call with President Obama after it was clear Democrats would lose the House in 2010, “Even if we never passed healthcare reform, we were still going to lose this election because of the nine-and-a half percent unemployment. 'Cause it wasn't about that, it was about jobs. The white male thing is just-- That's a dominant thing. When they don't have a job, they get in a mood. And, um... so, we'll have to make some decisions in our caucus about how we go forward.”
Later, we again see Alexandra lamenting all the attack ads being run against her mother, “Mom, they're really coming after you. Have you seen these ads?”
Pelosi’s response was to play the sexism card, “The Republicans knew that I was a problem to them because I was successful. If I were not successful, I would not have been their target. And by the way, when you're a woman you're more of a target.”
Alternatively, while Democratic presidents have come and gone over the years, Pelosi has remained the most powerful Democrat in D.C. and being the face of the other party’s attack ads comes with the territory.
When it comes to the first Trump impeachment, Pelosi shows off to the cameras a framed picture of her with Trump at the White House, “in which I am saying to the president, ‘With you, Mr. President, all roads lead to Putin. I'm out of here in terms of this meeting.’’
Again, we see Pelosi play both the race and sexism card, “The White House put this out of hand I had become. But in fact, what they did was a giant favor to me for people seeing me stand up to the president, especially in a room of all these white men.”
As if glorifying the histrionics during 2019 SOTU wasn’t bad enough, 2020 was worse. That was the year Pelosi ripped up a copy of the speech after Trump concluded. In response to questioning from reporters, Pelosi is shown saying, “It was the courteous thing to do” and “Because it was a manifesto of mistruths”
Alexandra then asks “What were the most egregious violations?” to which Pelosi responds, “Well, every page. I mean, it's like a hundred. That was a piece of crap. It was a total pack of lies. It was a total pack of lies… I feel very liberated by that speech tonight. If that's how he wants to play it, then we can have no holds bar. We just have to call him a liar.”
Alexandra claims “I’m not a political person,” but after making a documentary about your mother doing blatantly political things, that no Republican Speaker has ever done, nobody will believe it.
Here is a transcript for relevant portions of Pelosi in the House:
HBO Pelosi in the House
12/13/2022
9:04 PM ET
DONALD TRUMP [FEBRUARY 5, 2019]: Members of Congress, the state of our union is strong.
GOP CONGRESS MEMBERS: U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A.
TRUMP: And the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations. But we must reject the politics of revenge, resistance, and retribution, and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise, and the common good.
NANCY PELOSI: There's so much crap in his speech. He lied so much and he fear-mongered so much.
STAFFER: Yes.
I mean, I wish I were free to say what I want to say about this, because this is a very dangerous man. A very dangerous man. He's hiding behind World War II, the Holocaust, children's cancer, and all the rest...
STAFFER: Right.
PELOSI: To get applause lines. And by the way, $500 million over ten years for childhood cancer—
STAFFER: A pittance.
PELOSI: Why don't I just give you the change out of my sofa?
STAFFER: Yeah.
PELOSI: It is nothing. It was a very strange speech.
STAFFER: It really was.
PELOSI: It was disgusting. And then to stand in the well of the House of Representatives and say so many things happened, abolitionists, slavery, this or that, but don’t think you can exercise your constitutional authority of oversight over the executive branch in terms of the separation of powers.
Was that a threat?
STAFF: Yes.
PELOSI: Make my day.
ALEXANDRA PELOSI: Okay Mom, here we go. You've set up an epic battle. The press are now saying it's you against the president.
GEORGE KUNDANIS: Morning.
PELOSI: How are you? George?
KUNDANIS: Oh, super! Tell me when you've heard enough. I'll give you some of the top stuff, it's unbelievable. The Post leads with Queen of Condescending Applause: Nancy Pelosi clapped at Trump and the internet lost it. The internet lost it. The internet is afire. You’ve become the internet’s newest obsession with your clapping.
ALEXANDRA PELOSI: Look, it says, "Dems celebrate Pelosi era after State of the Union."
STAFFER 1: Pelosi era.
STAFFER 2: Literally.
ALEXANDRA PELOSI: It's the Pelosi era.
STAFFER 2: Back at Trump.
STAFFER 3: That didn't take long.
PELOSI: He's looking.
STAFFER 3: He doesn't know what hit him. Look at him.
STAFFER 2: At the McDonald's summit.
STAFFER 3: Photoshopping gone mad.
PELOSI: What has he got on? Oh, my god.
STAFFER: Everywhere. Yes.
PELSOI: That was terrible.
…
9:16
Pelosi: I said if they wanted to register their opposition to the war, they should do so at the polls. But I was not going to impeach the president.
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Impeach. Impeach. Impeach.
AUDIENCE MEMBER 1: Speak to Bush’s impeachment.
PELOSI: I think we should solve this issue electorally.
AUDIENCE MEMBER 2: I'm going to vomit! Who gave you the right to take the Constitution and shove it down the toilet? Who gave you the right to take impeachment off the table? Nancy, show some spine.
PELOSI: I take an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States--
AUDIENCE MEMBER 3: That's what I just said!
PELOSI: --And don’t tell me that I don’t do that.
…
9:27
PELOSI [AFTER 2010 MIDTERMS]: Hey Mr. President, not a good night. Our members have said they don't regret their healthcare bill right across the board. Even if we never passed healthcare reform, we were still going to lose this election because of the nine-and-a half percent unemployment. 'cause it wasn't about that, it was about jobs. The white male thing is just-- That's a dominant thing. When they don't have a job, they get in a mood. And, um... so, we'll have to make some decisions in our caucus about how we go forward.
…
9:38
ALEXANDRA PELOSI: Mom, they're really coming after you. Have you seen these ads?
PELOSI: I don't see them because they don't show them in San Francisco. But I've heard about them, that they had 137,000 ads against me.
AD NARRATOR: Once, Nancy Pelosi was safely confined to liberal San Francisco.
PELOSI: The Republicans knew that I was a problem to them because I was successful. If I were not successful, I would not have been their target. And by the way, when you're a woman you're more of a target.
…
9:49
PELOSI: Trump describes how he would like the president of Ukraine to investigate his political opponent, Joe Biden's son, Hunter. Telling him who he's going to have call him to help implement that, including the attorney general of the United States.
REPORTER: Madam Speaker, any doubt in your mind that the president will be impeached.
PELOSI: “I need a favor. I need a favor." He didn't really know right from wrong. And what he had done is crossed a threshold into impeachment territory.
Somebody's just sent me this picture, which has been in the public domain for a while. And it's a picture in which I am saying to the president, "With you, Mr. President, all roads lead to Putin. I'm out of here in terms of this meeting." And the White House, uh, put-- took the picture, 'cause we're not even allowed to bring cameras into such a room. The White House put this out of hand I had become. But in fact, what they did was a giant favor to me for people seeing me stand up to the president, especially in a room of all these white men.
…
9:59
TRUMP [FEBRUARY 4, 2020]: Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America. Thank you very much.
PELOSI: So?
REPORTER 1: Speaker Pelosi, what’s your reaction to the speech?
PELOSI: I tore it up.
REPORTER 1: Why did you tear it up?
PELOSI: It was the courteous thing to do.
REPORTER 2: Why did you tear up his speech?
PELOSI: Because it was a manifesto of mistruths.
ALEXANDRA PELOSI: What were the most egregious violations?
PELOSI: Well, every page. I mean, it's like a hundred. That was a piece of crap. It was a total pack of lies. It was a total pack of lies. And anything that wasn't a lie, we did and he took credit for it.
STAFFER: Right.
PELOSI: It's like we demanded, we're not going to give you a defense bill unless we have parental leave. So he said, "And I signed a historic--" Yeah, you signed it. But you didn't have anything to do with it. And we demanded that you do it.
I feel very liberated by that speech tonight. If that's how he wants to play it, then we can have no holds bar. We just have to call him a liar.
