Tipsheet

ICYMI: Pelosi Mocked White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Thursday

Cortney O'Brien
Cortney O'Brien  |  August 28, 2020 10:00 AM

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been full of nasty criticisms this week for her colleagues on the other side of the aisle. On Monday, while accusing Republicans of trying to undermine our postal system to win in November, she referred to them as "domestic enemies." Lawmakers like Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) called her remark "disgusting." Having been shot and nearly killed by a radical leftist gunman in 2017, he knows more than most people how harmful such rhetoric can be.

But Pelosi continued to demean Republicans as the week continued. Following a 25-minute call with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Thursday over the next coronavirus relief package, the speaker made it seem as though he was so inconsequential that she forgot his name.

“This is a conversation only to respect the fact that the president’s representative, not even the lead negotiator, that would be Mnuchin, we consider, whatever his name is — what’s the name?" Pelosi mockingly asked reporters at her press conference. "Meadows there — as staffing Mr. Mnuchin.”

She later appeared to recall his name, but concluded that he nor anyone else at the White House is serious about a new COVID relief bill.

Meadows, for one, remembers their conversation perfectly. He explained that Pelosi and the Democrats want a $2.3 trillion or $2.4 trillion package “without any guardrails or parameters.” 

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“What [Pelosi] said to us in the room is, ‘You give us the amount of money, we’ll tell you how we’re going to spend it,'" Meadows said. "That’s not how negotiations happen."

Despite Pelosi's name calling - or in his case, name forgetting - Meadows took the high road and is ready to reach a negotiation for the American people.