Transcript of Pelosi Interview on MSNBC’s The ReidOut with Joy Reid
Contact: Speaker’s Press Office,
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Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Joy Reid on MSNBC’s The ReidOut to discuss the House-passed Heroes Act, the latest on the COVID-19 response package and other news of the day. Below are the Speaker’s remarks:
Joy Reid. I’m joined by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Speaker Pelosi, thank you for being here. We always appreciate your time. I want to focus on this fixation that Donald Trump shares with his Republican colleagues on tax cuts, this idea of cutting payroll taxes, which of course would gut the Social Security trust fund. And then, tonight, he also said he wants additional capital gains tax cuts and a middle class tax cut. What would that do for people who are not employed and therefore not paying payroll taxes or any taxes at the moment because they're not getting a check?
Speaker Pelosi. Well, thank you, Joy, for the opportunity to be with you. Congratulations on ReidOut. We're all excited about your new show.
Joy Reid. Thank you.
Speaker Pelosi. An opportunity to talk about issues of concern to America's working families. That's not what the President is talking about. What we're seeing is illusion. It's important to enlarge the issue to understand that what the President does is say, ‘I'm doing things to help people,’ which he isn't. And then the stations pick it up and say, ‘The President is doing something to help people.’ And it's all about one thing, the stock market.
And the markets pick it up. The markets go up. That's his question, ‘What's the market doing?’ And they – with the Fed and the President's illusions, they are bolstering the stock market, and we're saying, let's bolster America's working families.
What he's saying – he cannot forgive – alleviate the tax cut. He can only defer it. If he were to forgive it, it would hurt Medicare and Social Security.
Joy Reid. And I want to show you a picture that we pulled up. This is the last time, as far as we know, that you met with Donald Trump face-to-face, and here's the photo. This is Speaker Pelosi standing, while all of these men are sitting and having to listen. I think a lot of people enjoyed that photo, a lot of women did, for sure. But that's the last time you've spoken with the President personally, is that correct? It was from October of last year.
Speaker Pelosi. Don't forget the State of the Union Address. Don’t forget the State of the Union Address in early February where I expressed my view to him very directly about the stack of lies that he had in the State of the Union Address.
Joy Reid. You spoke with your papers.
Speaker Pelosi. Pretty soon, in a number of months, we will have that table full of many more women appointed by President Joe Biden. So, that's something to look forward to. But at that picture I was, at that moment, pointing to him and saying, ‘With you, Mr. President, all roads lead to Putin.’ And of course, that's what's happening now, again. Putin's interference into our U.S. elections to benefit his good friend, Donald Trump.
Joy Reid. If you don’t – and just for a civics lesson for those who don't follow this day in and day out, Congress appropriates money. The power of the purse in the hands of the Speaker, is in the hands of the House of Representatives. Donald Trump is proposing to do things that are fiscal, that are actually in your purview, in the House's purview.
Could you ever envision a scenario where Democrats in the House would agree to allow Donald Trump to cut into the payroll tax or to pass additional capital gains tax cuts for the rich when there's still no money for people who’ve been depending on that extra $600 in their unemployment?
Speaker Pelosi. Well, no, I can't envision a situation, but here it is. We’re in the middle of pandemic. Three months ago, we passed the Heroes Act in the House of Representatives to meet the needs of the American people. At that time, Leader McConnell pushed the pause button, pushed the pause button, and during that pause, 3.5 million more people were added to the list of those infected and over 75,000 more people have died once they pushed the pause button.
Last week, they came up with meager proposals and the President then, over the weekend, did even less to give an illusion so that the market would go up and people would think, who are not paying attention, that he might be doing something.
But let me say this. We have children food insecure in our country. In our bill, we had $60 billion. In their bill, they had $250,000. And to go to his country club there, where he wants to give a tax break, a capital gains tax break, again, to the high end – they didn't have money for children who are food insecure but did have a tax deduction for business lunches that cost a half a billion dollars to give.
So, this is – I think it's important to note, as you're giving your history lesson, the difference between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to meeting the needs of the American people.
It shouldn't be partisan that we would feed our children. It shouldn't be partisan that we not allow people to be evicted because they’re caught up in a pandemic. It shouldn't be partisan that the President of the United States would say to people in the course of a pandemic of uncertainty about health and on schools and uncertainty about money in their pockets: guess what I have for you, a cut. A benefit cut.
Joy Reid. Yeah. It's pretty shocking.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, we really appreciate you up there fighting the good fight. Thank you so much for being on tonight. Really appreciate your time.
Speaker Pelosi. My pleasure and congratulations to you again. Thank you.
Joy Reid. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Madam Speaker.
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