On Thursday afternoon, MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell and Capitol Hill correspondent Kasie Hunt were gleeful as they discussed Nancy Pelosi striking a deal with “rebel” Democrats to ensure her position as Speaker of the House. They both agreed that a contentious Oval Office meeting with President Trump had given Pelosi a boost during one of her “best weeks in politics.”
“Well, Nancy Pelosi is clearing another hurdle in her bid to become House Speaker, striking a deal with insurgent Democrats who’ve been pushing for a regime change,” Mitchell excitedly announced at the top of the segment in the 12:00 p.m. ET hour. Turning to Hunt, the host wondered: “Do we have that right? Is that the state of play right now? Is she pretty much on a glide path perhaps – perhaps propelled a little but by her performance against the President in the Oval Office?”
In response, Hunt proclaimed: “She’s all but assured to take back the gavel now, Andrea. And you’re right, you know, this has got to be one of Nancy Pelosi’s best weeks in politics, and she’s had a pretty long career.”
Seizing on Mitchell’s reference to Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer arguing with the President on camera about government funding during a White House meeting on Tuesday, Hunt hailed: “That moment in the Oval Office could not have come at a better timer for her in trying to corral these dissidents, rebels, whatever you want to call them inside the Democratic caucus, who have been pushing basically for new leadership.”
The reporter offered this rave review: “...one thing we’ve been hearing up on the Hill in the wake of that meeting is that Nancy Pelosi really showed what experience buys you and she also demonstrated why it is that she’s been sitting atop the Democratic caucus for so long. She is simply really good at it.”
Hunt touted the Democratic leader’s pitch to detractors:
And her argument behind the scenes has been, you know, why would you give that up at a time when you have this chance, as the Democratic Party, to take on President Trump, why would you abandon your war-tested, battle-tested general right as you were about to kind of seize the momentum in the war with the Republican president? And that has been really effective.
The exchange made it clear that Mitchell and Hunt were two of Pelosi’s biggest fans, they didn’t even bother to hide their adoration.
Here is a transcript of the December 13 exchange:
12:30 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: Well, Nancy Pelosi is clearing another hurdle in her bid to become House Speaker, striking a deal with insurgent Democrats who’ve been pushing for a regime change. Pelosi agreeing to limit Democratic leaders to three years in their posts, with a possible fourth year with the support of at least two thirds of the caucus. This is a significant concession to Pelosi’s challengers, who are bolstered by the newly elected Democrats who have been demanding a leadership shake-up.
NBC’s Kasie Hunt joins me now from Capitol Hill. Do we have that right? Is that the state of play right now? Is she pretty much on a glide path perhaps – perhaps propelled a little but by her performance against the President in the Oval Office?
KASIE HUNT: She’s all but assured to take back the gavel now, Andrea. And you’re right, you know, this has got to be one of Nancy Pelosi’s best weeks in politics, and she’s had a pretty long career. That moment in the Oval Office could not have come at a better timer for her in trying to corral these dissidents, rebels, whatever you want to call them inside the Democratic caucus, who have been pushing basically for new leadership.
One of the criticisms of that group of people has been that they don’t necessarily – or that they didn’t necessarily have any material reason other than they wanted generational change. And you know, one thing we’ve been hearing up on the Hill in the wake of that meeting is that Nancy Pelosi really showed what experience buys you and she also demonstrated why it is that she’s been sitting atop the Democratic caucus for so long. She is simply really good at it. She understands where all of the votes are, she’s often called the best vote counter in Congress, she understands the dynamics, she understands how to negotiate.
And her argument behind the scenes has been, you know, why would you give that up at a time when you have this chance, as the Democratic Party, to take on President Trump, why would you abandon your war-tested, battle-tested general right as you were about to kind of seize the momentum in the war with the Republican president? And that has been really effective.
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