Pelosi Slams Her Hand on Lectern While Responding to ‘Peaceful Transition’ Question

As the rhetoric ratchets up heading towards the election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a press conference this morning and was asked a question regarding the “peaceful transition” of power if President Trump were to lose.

She said that “We don’t agonize, we organize and we want to make sure that the American people know how important their vote is and how they can vote safely without risking their health.”

“It is very sad that you even have to ask that question, a real testimony to the need for protecting our democracy that we put forth yesterday,” she added while slamming her hand down on the lectern.

Speaker Pelosi says Pres. Trump declining to commit to peaceful transfer of power if he loses is “no surprise” because he has “been contemptible of science and governance,” but “I have confidence in the American people,” and Trump “won’t get away” with it. https://t.co/mRWa6yO6vC pic.twitter.com/3zkXmXo7QI

— ABC News (@ABC) September 24, 2020

From The Hill:

Pelosi said she was not surprised by his remarks, saying he’s “been contemptible of …governance” during his time in office, and noting Trump’s past praise for dictators across the world. 

“We do know who he admires. He admires [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, he admires Kim Jong Un, he admires [Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan in Turkey,” she said, listing off autocrats Trump has applauded in the past. “But I remind hm, you are not in North Korea, you are not in Turkey, you are not in Russia, Mr. President — and by the way, you are not in Saudi Arabia. You are in the United States of America, it is a democracy, so why don’t you just try for a moment to honor your oath of office, to the Constitution of the United States?”

The President told Brian Kilmeade in a radio interview this morning that he “would agree with” a suggestion by Kilmeade that Trump would accept a Supreme Court ruling declaring the outcome of a contested election

He added, though, that “I think we have a long way before we get there. These ballots are a horror show.”