Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi struggled to recover after an ultra-awkward and embarrassing moment with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a Monday event hosted by Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).
During the very first exchange, Peloso thanked Clinton for her leadership in safeguarding democracy “when president” – and that’s when she quickly realized her error, dramatically recoiling and making hand motions. She then tried to recover by saying rather that it was “my hope” that Clinton become president. Watch the below – Pelosi’s Freudian slip comes just after the 1-minute mark:
Clinton had introduced the conversastion with Pelosi by saying, “Let’s start with this little matter of democracy, because I think you and I believe that it’s not just in our country, but that’s where we see it most clearly, there is a concerted effort to undermine some of the very foundations of democratic governance, of a democratic society.”
“There’s research, some of it done by SIPA in this university, showing that half the world’s democracies are backsliding, and that includes, sadly, the United States. So, what do you, Nancy, view as the biggest threats and challenges facing our democracy and what are the opportunities to try to stop that backsliding and turn it around?” she asked. Pelosi replied:
“Well, I appreciate that question, but I also appreciate your leadership in this regard when president –”
Another interesting moment came when Pelosi claimed that Clinton is the one person that Russia’s President Putin feared the most:
She went on to scapegoat Russian leader Vladimir Putin for stealing the 2016 election from Clinton, saying it was because he feared her the “most.”
“It was her clarity and position to the present – Putin – present occupant leader of Russia, that made him turn around and ensure, in an illegal way, come out against her in her campaign and interference in our democracy by Vladimir Putin, because Hillary Clinton was the person he feared most in terms of his lack of democracy in Russia. That’s, I think, self-evident, so thank you for what you have done,” Pelosi said.
But we highly doubt Putin ever “feared” Clinton; instead, it’s more likely he considered her hawkish policies to be dangerous to the world, heightening the risk of a major clash among superpowers.
There’s also a number of examples where Clinton’s policies contributed to failed states, for example in Libya, Syria, and Iraq.
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