Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday appeared to in part agree with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection was an “inside job,” but with a major caveat.
During Wednesday’s GOP primary debate, Ramaswamy appeared to embrace a baseless right-wing conspiracy theory that federal agents orchestrated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Why am I the only person on this stage at least who can say that Jan. 6 now does look like it was an inside job?” he asked.
In an interview with MSNBC’s “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell,” Pelosi cited the notable debate moment before adding: “It’s an inside job on the part of Donald Trump and his henchmen in the Congress of the United States.”
Pelosi also weighed in on Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (La.) intention to blur the faces of rioters from security footage from inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
“We have to blur some of the faces of persons who participated in the events of that day because we don’t want them to be retaliated against and to be charged by the DOJ,” Johnson said during a recent press conference.
Pelosi said that’s “just not right,” adding that his statements show that he cares more about shielding the people who opposed the peaceful transfer of power than law enforcement officers who protected the Capitol on that day.
“Why would he blur their faces?” Pelosi asked. “Because he knows it’s an indictment on them.”
The former speaker also called on Americans who previously voted for Donald Trump to consider what’s at stake if the former president wins reelection next November. Trump continues to dominate the Republican field ahead of the first GOP nominating contest in Iowa on Jan. 15, even as he once again refuses to show up to debate his opponents who made it on the debate stage in Alabama this week.
“They have to make a decision about our democracy, our flag, our Constitution, the future of our children in a democratic state that is a model to the world,” Pelosi said.
During a town hall moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity Tuesday, four-times indicted Trump did not rule out abusing power or seeking retribution from his political opponents if he gets reelected.
Trump added that he would only be a dictator on day one of his administration.
“He says: ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’” Trump said. “I said, ‘No, no, no, other than day one.’ We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.”