The person who gets on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) bad side risks their own health. She grew up with six older brothers, the youngest child of the former mayor of Baltimore. Then, she raised five of her own children. Both are excellent training to become the first woman speaker of the House and the only person to ever have the job twice.
Tuesday morning she had a live interview with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street anchor Jim Cramer. During the interview, they were discussing the stalled coronavirus stimulus talks, when he called the Speaker “crazy Nancy.” Whether or not it was what he really believed the moniker, or he was awkwardly quoting Donald Trump, remained a mystery.
As soon as the words fell out of his mouth, Cramer started backtracking, noting that it was the president’s favorite nickname for her:
‘Sorry, that was the president, I have such reverence for the office, I would never use that term.’
She responded with all the dignity of her office, The Daily Beast reported:
‘But you just did.’
Cramer was walking all over himself trying to explain that he had not intended to insult her. He said:
‘It’s a travesty to ever call [her that given] her whole life in public service.’
Then, he gave the apology another shot at the end of the interview saying “I respect you:”
‘You know I was being facetious when I used the term involving you. I respect you. Anyone who gives their life to public service and is Speaker of the House should not be called that name. I don’t even want to use it again.’
After leaving Cramer on the hook to squirm for a while, Pelosi freed him:
‘[Don’t] worry about that, [and] let that be your biggest problem of the day.’
The Speaker said she continued to be against the Republican’s attempt to pass a much smaller version of the Democrats’ coronavirus stimulus plan, CNBC reported. Cramer wondered whether she would consider passing a “skinny” deal and then come back to attack the other issue later. She responded:
‘[T]here is no later with this administration. This is the opportunity. And the skinny deal is a Republican bill: That’s not a deal at all. They’re making a skinny — in fact, Chuck Schumer and I call it an emaciated — proposal for a massive problem. We can fiscally spend the appropriate amount of money to meet the needs of the American people. And by the way: It’s stimulus. We are a consumer economy and the more we have, whether it’s food stamps or unemployment insurance … that is stimulus to the economy.’
Her determination might jeopardize members of her caucus in their reelection bids, however. They hoped to take money back with them for their constituents.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been seeking a compromise. Still, he wanted to keep the price to about one trillion dollars compared to the Democrats’ three-trillion-dollar deal. Now, the Republican are worried about the budget. Where were they when Trump handed his billionaire friends a huge tax break?
The House Problem Solvers Caucus on Tuesday released a bipartisan COVID relief plan:
‘Having seen no progress on a new COVID-19 relief package in four months, and in recognition of Americans’ increasing suffering, the Problem Solvers Caucus (PSC) has developed a comprehensive, bipartisan framework to meet the nation’s needs for the next 6-12 months, that can pass both chambers of Congress and be signed into law by the President.’
The proposal included:
- $450 per week in federal unemployment benefits for eight weeks,
- $500 billion in state and local relief, direct payments to American workers and additional Paycheck Protection Program funds.
Watch the interview here:
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