House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on her husband’s assault and how Democrats view their chances

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• Judy Woodruff:

  This time, the key issues range from inflation and crime, to the fate of legal abortion, and even voting itself, including how future elections are held.

  And for a deeper dive on how Democrats view their chances for tonight, we're joined by the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

  Madam Speaker, thank you so much for being here.

  And I do want to get right to the election, but, of course, I have to ask you, how is your husband, Paul, doing?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA):

  You're so nice to ask.

  Day by day, he gets better. And, day by day I ask him, OK, I have got to do the campaign, OK? And so he is well enough for me to do that, but we take it one day at a time.

  But thank you for asking. He has been deluged with prayers from all over Georgetown University here, nuns of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco, churches across the country pouring out prayers for him. So, I believe in prayer.

  Thank you so much.

• Judy Woodruff:

  And he has been getting better?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  He's making progress.

• Judy Woodruff:

  We can't help but notice that the Republicans have spent, I think, hundreds of millions of dollars over the last many years attacking you. They have come after you on one thing after another. Just this year, they have spent — we looked it up — $50 million.

  Do you see a connection between all of that and the attack on what was meant to be an attack on you?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Yes, well, that's sad part of it, that it was an attack, intended to be an attack on me. And, sadly, my husband paid the price.

  What's sad about both of the sentences that you said, one about the can't the ads, the negative ads, the misrepresentations, is, I always try to encourage many women especially to run for office. And they will say to me: I don't know if I could handle all the attack that you receive. I don't know if I can pass that on to my family.

• And I say:

  No, you can't pay attention to them. As long as you're affected, you will be a target.

  But the fact is, if you take the attacks, and then you feed the disinformation, and you get a physical attack, that's almost too much to ask. So, I'm concerned. We have to — we have to find a better path. We have to unify. We have to heal.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Is that clear to you that we can heal?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  We have to. We're America. This is the greatest place that ever existed in the world. And the Americans — I have great confidence in the American people.

• Judy Woodruff:

  So, let's talk about the election.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  OK.

• Judy Woodruff:

  You have just heard us reporting the polls are showing this looks like a good night, a good day for Republicans to take back control of the House.

  Do you see a way for Democrats to hold on?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  I do.

  I have always objected to the presentation, the media thread that was out there, you can't win because it's an off-year, so who cares? It's — we have great candidates who have confidence and courage to run because they believe, and they know why they're running. And they know that our democracy at stake, our planet is at risk, but also that you win these elections on the kitchen table issues.

  And we have a great record. So I — let me just say, I have three measures, message, mobilization, money, that we have to have. And — but the most important part of that is, that's the platform for our candidates to stand on. We have far superior candidates. We own the ground out there today.

  And just because a pundit in Washington says history says you can't win is no deterrent for the enthusiasm we have out there. So, I think you will be surprised this evening.

• Judy Woodruff:

  You mentioned kitchen table issues.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Yes.

• Judy Woodruff:

  I'm sure you know there are a number of Democratic analysts out there saying, people who are — identify as Democrats who are saying they think too many of the Democratic candidates this year were talking about, as important as they are, issues like abortion and democracy, rather than tackling head on the question of inflation, the economy, crime, the issues that people say they're worried about.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Well, with all due respect to whoever those analysts are, our candidates know their districts, and they are connecting to their districts.

  So the message that might be useful for somebody in Washington, D.C., is maybe not the message that works. Our candidates are contrasting themselves in a positive way about what they believe in, lower costs, bigger paychecks, safer communities, and a record that the Democrats have in that regard that our great president has taken the lead on and Congress has fulfilled.

  And they take their message as, your candidate — I support freedom of expression — freedom of choice for a woman. You support a nationwide ban on abortion. I support lowering prescription drug prices. You voted against that, and said your purpose, if you win, is to reverse lowering prescription drug prices. I support Social Security. You say we should put it on the chopping block.

  And the list goes on, climate, you name it, gun safety and the rest. So, in their districts, they know it's — all politics is local. They know how to connect to their voters better than some general pundits in Washington, D.C., with all due respect.

• Judy Woodruff:

  I was just going to say, one of those analysts is ®MD-IT¯Stan Greenberg, whom you know very well, Ruy Teixeira. These are people who have spent years…

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Yes.

• Judy Woodruff:

  … looking at the Democratic Party and its messaging.

  Former — well, the current Republican leader in the House, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, talking about the debt ceiling vote, which is going to come up in weeks to come…

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Yes.

• Judy Woodruff:

  … speaks about it in terms of we're going to have to hold back on government spending, cut back on government spending before we agree to raise the debt ceiling.

  What does that say to you?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  What it says to us, that one place that they are targeting is Social Security. They're saying, oh, we're going to put Social Security, Medicare out there. And we're going to use the debt ceiling as our leverage.

  So — and we're just going to be there for Social Security and Medicare. And the American people have to know that that is at stake in this election. Our challenge is that we are not fearmongers. We're hope — we are hope purveyors. And you don't want to scare people. But you have to let them know what is at stake in the election.

  And they have been very clear. They're going to use the debt ceiling vote as a way to cut Social Security. They call them entitlements. We call them insurance programs that people have paid into.

• Judy Woodruff:

  But if Democrats are in the minority, how can they stop it?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Well, we intend to win. We have an election. You understand it's not determined by pundits in Washington. It's determined by the American people.

  And I'm excited about Election Day. It's a day where the sanctity of the vote is revered, where people vote, and we have to respect the results of that. But, again, whatever the outcome, we will respect that.

• Judy Woodruff:

  A lot of attention is devoted over the past year to the January 6, special — the select committee investigating what happened, public hearings.

  A lot of people thought that would play a big role in the election this fall. It is not turning out to be. Voters are not saying that is at the top or anywhere near the top of the list of their concerns. Why do you think that is?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Well, we never intended it to be a political item. It's about seeking the truth.

  And it has had an impact on taking people to a place where they see the truth more clearly. But it was never planned as a political tactic. But you do see people saying that democracy is at stake in the election more and more. And those are not unrelated.

  But if you see the assault that was made on the Capitol, on the Constitution of the United States, which we all take an oath to protect and defend, but, clearly, our colleagues have abandoned on the other side of the aisle, and you see the rhetoric that was going on that day, and you see what that man said coming into my home, you see a thread.

  And that's just not something that has a place in our democracy.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Which comment are you referring to?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  "Where's Nancy? Where's Nancy? Where's Nancy?"

• Judy Woodruff:

  Yes.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  And some of the rest of the disinformation that he used as his motivation.

  But, again, I'm — our family is strong. And we have a lot of trauma to deal with. We don't want other families to have to deal with that. And we don't want — the babies born now will live until the next century. Even some babies born 10 years — or so years ago will live to the next century.

  We want to make sure that they have a democracy that is strong, a planet that is safe, values that are intact, and that we have healing and unity that has produced that. So, this is an election. We will take it in stride. We think will do much better than anyone expects. We will see in a number — a matter of hours.

  We may not have the results right away, they tell me, but at least we will have some idea as we go forward.

• Judy Woodruff:

  That's our understanding.

  President Biden, his approval ratings, I know you know very well, are in the low 40s, on average, some — in some places even lower. Has he been a drag for Democrats this year?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  No, no, not at all.

  He has been a great president. He has not received the respect and the appreciation, whether we're talking about lowering the cost of prescription drugs and protecting Social Security and Medicare, whether we're talking about 10 million jobs created under his presidency. Of course, the private sector has a role in that.

  You have a president who has had legislation unseen in this country or any country to preserve the planet, to fight the climate crisis, gun violence protection, every subject that you can name, a woman's right to choose, personal freedom. Just enlarge the issue to that. He has been a great president.

  And in our districts, our members are doing just fine in terms of their own approval ratings, because of what they done to vote or, in terms of our candidates, how they intend to vote.

• Judy Woodruff:

  And do you think the White House has done the job that it needed to do to get that message across that you just described?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Let me just say, yes, I do. And I have no complaint whatsoever about the White House and what they have done.

  What I will say, that there is a massive disinformation campaign that is going on in our country. It's repeated again and again on TV and radio and in the press. The clicks on it, or the clips and the clicks on it are formidable. And that's what's called news.

  Now, endless, deep, dark special interest money is pouring into that, people who don't want to pay taxes, people who are still fighting the Civil War, some combination of those people. So, again, the numbers that relate to the president are really not that bad.

  When we lost in 2010, unemployment was at 9.5 percent. Right now, it's at 3.5 percent. So this president doesn't get the credit he deserves. But I think that there has to be a recognition of the disinformation that is out there. And so he's — the American people are certainly better off than they were two years ago.

  But, again, it because of disinformation — they suffocate the airwaves with disinformation. And that confuses people.

• Judy Woodruff:

  One last question about you and your future.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Yes.

• Judy Woodruff:

  You have served as speaker, as a member of the House of Representatives, especially during these last few tumultuous years.

  You said in an interview yesterday that what happened to your husband could have bearing on whether you decide to run again.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  I did.

• Judy Woodruff:

  What about if Democrats were in the minority? Would that have an effect on your decision about whether to run?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Well, I'm not predicating any action on Democrats not winning tonight. And so that's a conversation for another day. Let's just get out the vote, and again, with hope, and, again, with respect for everyone who votes, Democrats, Republicans, declined-to-state. That's what they're called in California.

  But I don't know if that's called an independent other places, but nonaffiliated. We respect all of their votes. And, in my Congress, I'm so proud of the House Democrats, because they're so courageous. But I respect every member for the people who sent them there, the people who sent them there, the American people. I have great confidence in them.

• Judy Woodruff:

  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, thank you very much for joining us.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  My pleasure. Thank you.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Appreciate it.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Onward to victory.

• Judy Woodruff:

  Thank you.