WASHINGTON — Asked on Capitol Hill this morning about Donald Trump’s assertion that Hillary Clinton is playing the “women’s card” to get elected, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) asserted he’s playing the “joker’s card” while Clinton is playing “the experience card.”
Pelosi’s remarks come as the Clinton campaign is distributing “woman cards” to donors “to display proudly on a fridge or pull out of their wallet every time they run into someone who says women who support Hillary must not be using our brains.”
Pelosi said of Trump at her press conference, “I don’t know what card he’s playing. What, the joker’s card? I mean, that doesn’t even count in a deck of cards.”
“But here’s the thing. I do not think that anybody should campaign on the basis of — you know, when I was running for leadership myself, the last thing I could say to my colleagues was you should support me because I am a woman. It’s not a winning message,” she added.
“The winning message is you should support me because I think I can do the best job and here’s what I can do, and I think that’s what Hillary Clinton is presenting. Perhaps some of the Republicans do not recognize a skilled leader when they see one, but that’s exactly what Hillary Clinton is. And her message, her call for support is about being the best prepared person to serve as president of the United States.”
Pelosi has not made an endorsement in the Democratic primary race, but when asked about Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) chances at this point she referred generally to the Democratic nominee — “whoever she may be.”
“Elections are about the future. They are not about slogans like this. So what is it that the two candidates, when they merge, have to say about the future? And I know that it would be a wonderful, glorious thing to have a woman president of the United States,” she said.
“But that is not the credential to be elected or to be — have the confidence of the American people. The credential is your leadership, your knowledge, your judgment, your vision, your strategic thinking, your connection to the American people. I don’t know — in the history of our country, probably few people compare with the preparation that Hillary Clinton has to walk into that Oval Office.”
The Dem leader added that “the responsibility in a campaign is to elevate the debate to a place that, again, honors the vision our Founders had for this country.”
“I think this is going to be a very interesting year. I hope the debate will be elevated to a place like that so that when the next president takes office, we’ll be with an understanding in the public as to what the differences — the legitimate differences are that we have between us, between the parties, and where the public comes down on those issues, but not any cute statements about — I don’t even know which one you’re referring to because he has made so many statements,” Pelosi said.
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