From Nancy Pelosi herself to her white suit to her relationship with former President Trump, MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell and her Thursday guests could not stop gushing over Pelosi before and after her speech announcing she step down from House Democratic leadership in the next Congress.
Before the speech, Mitchell had a difficult time keeping it together as she declared, “And [Capitol Hill correspondent] Ali Vitali, we've heard all these scenarios that, you know, there was one report Jon Meacham had contributed to the speech—speeches we should say because they’re were different options, but eventually, she was rewriting herself because she knows herself better than anyone, of course.”
Mitchell then went through her favorite Pelosi memories, all of which had some relation to Trump:
And just think of the things, of the moments, the way she counteracted Donald Trump. She became the single strongest opponent to Donald Trump when he was president, tearing the speech. Let's see if we can pull up some of those picture, those incredible pictures, with the State of the Union speech, again, often wearing that white suit, symbolic, of course, for the whole women's movement, going back to Seneca Falls and tearing up the speech at the State of the Union, you remember that.
After going through some more “incredible” photos of the two, Mitchell reminisced, “And also the time when they were arguing -- I believe it was arguing over gun laws and they were in the Oval Office and she took over a photo op and just dominated. Just always showing Donald Trump who was in charge in her own way.”
After the speech, Vitali also fawned over Pelosi and her clothes, “Pelosi making a nod to all of those as she stood there in that iconic white pantsuit that we have seen her wear time and again at these momentous, historical inflection points, a nod to the suffragettes and the women’s movement.”
After touching on Pelosi’s role in passing Obamacare, Vitali also hyped her relationship with Trump, “And then, of course, the work that she's done over the course of the pandemic, the work that she did on accountability around Donald Trump during the era of his government.”
“Accountability” is now less than two months away from being redefined as “obstructionist” or “partisan witch hunts.”
To help with that transition, political analyst Susan Del Percio ignored the more blatant partisan parts of the speech and condemned Republicans for not joining in the adulations, “I'm just reflecting and listening to Nancy Pelosi, and, you know, one thing that shined through was her deep patriotism, her love of country and then reflecting on looking at the people in the audience and yes, it was despicable the Republicans couldn't stand.”
Looking ahead, Del Percio also predicted, “looking at Democratic members, at times they love her, at times they fear her, but they always respected her and, you know, I look towards what may happen come January 1st and a potential Speaker McCarthy and I think, Kevin McCarthy is not respected nor feared and will probably be a complete train wreck as a speaker.”
MSNBC certainly does know a lot about train wrecks.
This segment was sponsored by Liberty Mutual.
Here is a transcript for the November 17 show:
MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports
11/17/2022
12:08 PM ET
ANDREA MITCHELL: And Ali Vitali, we've heard all these scenarios that, you know, there was one report Jon Meacham had contributed to the speech—speeches we should say because they’re were different options, but eventually, she was rewriting herself because she knows herself better than anyone, of course.
And just think of the things, of the moments, the way she counteracted Donald Trump. She became the single strongest opponent to Donald Trump when he was president, tearing the speech. Let's see if we can pull up some of those picture, those incredible pictures, with the State of the Union speech, again, often wearing that white suit, symbolic, of course, for the whole women's movement, going back to Seneca Falls and tearing up the speech at the State of the Union, you remember that.
And also pointing to the president and walking out-- there we have the picture of her just throwing down the speech and everyone was just, you know, shocked by it but also many were cheering the fact that she was simply ripping through the copy of the speech that was such a controversial State of the Union speech from the new president.
And then that moment in the cabinet room where he was pushing back on their agenda and she just got up, everyone else sat there. She pointed at him, someone took an incredible still photo. I guess, one of the pool photographers and she walked out, pointed at him and walked out of a leadership meeting.
And also the time when they were arguing -- I believe it was arguing over gun laws and they were in the Oval Office and she took over a photo op and just dominated. Just always showing Donald Trump who was in charge in her own way.
…
12:36 PM ET
ALI VITALI: Pelosi making a nod to all of those as she stood there in that iconic white pantsuit that we have seen her wear time and again at these momentous, historical inflection points, a nod to the suffragettes and the women’s movement.
I was also struck there too and you, I, and Kristen Welker, all of us, were talking about this, the important moments legislatively that she led on the battlefield here in Congress, talking about passing the Affordable Care Act under Barack Obama. She was integral to the passage of that legislation. Everyone who was involved at the time says it could not have been done without someone like Speaker Pelosi at the fore of the Democratic conference, moving that legislation along.
And then, of course, the work that she's done over the course of the pandemic, the work that she did on accountability around Donald Trump during the era of his government.
All of this so important to the legacy that she has built and you watched there, not many members of the Republican Party in that room, but among Democrats you saw the reverence her caucus has for her because, again, for many of them, she's been in leadership for almost 20 years. She's really one of the only leaders that many of these rank and file members have known so a sea change of course, because she's the historic first female speaker, but a sea change nonetheless overall within Democratic politics as someone so iconic is stepping back from leadership but still clearly playing an emeritus role here.
…
12:43
SUSAN DEL PERCIO: I'm just reflecting and listening to Nancy Pelosi, and, you know, one thing that shined through was her deep patriotism, her love of country and then reflecting on looking at the people in the audience and yes, it was despicable the Republicans couldn't stand, but looking at Democratic members, at times they love her, at times they fear her, but they always respected her and, you know, I look towards what may happen come January 1st and a potential Speaker McCarthy and I think, Kevin McCarthy is not respected nor feared and will probably be a complete train wreck as a speaker.
