By Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi focused on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in her speech at the third night of the Democratic National Convention, telling her party not to forget that “perilous moment for our democracy.”
“Never before had a president of the United States so brazenly assaulted the bedrock of our democracy, so gleefully embraced political violence, so willfully betrayed his oath of office,” she said.
“Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6th,” Pelosi said, and then paused. “He did!” she said, referring to former President Donald Trump. “But let us not forget who saved democracy that day,” she said with another beat in between. “We did!”
Pelosi was House Speaker on Jan. 6, 2021, when a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, trying to prevent the certification of Electoral College votes that would confirm Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.
“The parable of January 6th reminds us that our democracy is only as strong as the courage and commitment of those entrusted with its care. And we must choose leaders who believe in free and fair elections and who respect the peaceful transfer of power,” she said.
“The choice couldn’t be clearer. Those leaders are Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.”
Pelosi has represented a San Francisco district in the House for nearly 40 years, since 1987. Harris previously served as the city’s district attorney, then California’s attorney general and then its U.S. senator.
“I’ve known Kamala Harris for decades,” Pelosi said of her fellow Californian.” Personally, I know her as a person of deep faith, reflected in her community, care, and service.”
“Officially, she is a leader of strength, with wisdom and eloquence on policy—most recently, fighting for women’s right to choose,” she continued.
Pelosi is a legendary political strategist, having used her skills to shepherd a generation’s worth of landmark bills through the House. They include the Affordable Care Act, the Dodd-Frank banking regulations, the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and the Inflation Reduction Act.
“Politically,” she said, Harris is “astute and strategic in winning difficult elections — quickly securing the nomination with dignity and grace and choosing Tim Walz as our vice president.”
Coming from Pelosi, this was very high praise for Harris.
It was also a subtle nod to Pelosi’s own role in the replacement of the Democratic nominee for president last month, a chapter of American political history that is still unfolding.
Behind the scenes, Pelosi created the conditions that convinced Biden to drop his bid for reelection on July 21.
Pelosi thanked the president at the top of her remarks, saying that Democrats victories in the past four years were “all thanks to President Biden’s patriotic vision of a fairer America.”
