WASHINGTON (AP) — Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi defended her leadership, and her job, on Thursday in the face of needling from President Donald Trump and grumbling from fellow House Democrats exasperated after a high-profile special election loss.
“So you want me to sing my praises, is that what you’re saying?” the California Democrat remarked dismissively to reporters when asked why she should stay on as leader. “Well, I’m a master legislator. I’m a strategic, politically astute leader. My leadership is recognized by many around the country.”
“That is why I’m able to attract the support that I do, which is essential to our elections, sad to say,” Pelosi added, in a reference to her unparalleled fundraising hauls.
Pelosi’s defiant comments came as Democrats remained angry and divided after throwing some $30 million into a House race in Georgia on Tuesday, only to end up with a loss that wasn’t even very close. Republican Karen Handel beat Democrat Jon Ossoff by around 5 percentage points in the suburban Atlanta district previously represented by Tom Price, now the Health and Human Services secretary.
Democrats lost another race in South Carolina that same night, and that followed previous disappointments in Montana and Kansas.
