Nancy Pelosi and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Argue in Heated Exchange About Stimulus Bill: ‘You Really Don’t Know What You’re Talking About’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi clashed with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in a contentious interview Tuesday regarding delays in the approval of an additional stimulus relief bill. Although numerous relief bills have been proposed on Capitol Hill, all have failed to make it to President Donald Trump’s desk, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pointing fingers. During Pelosi’s appearance on The Situation Room, Blitzer pressed the House speaker on those delays, questioning why House Democrats haven’t accepted the Trump administration’s $1.8 trillion offer.

During the interview, Blitzer asked Pelosi to respond to a tweet from progressive Rep. Ro Khanna, who, in a tweet earlier this week, urged Democrats to seriously consider the White House’s offer. In the tweet, Khana said Democrats “need to make a deal & put the ball in [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell’s court,” because “people in need can’t wait until February.”

Responding, according to The Hill, Pelosi said, “what I say to you is, I don’t know why you’re always an apologist and many of your colleagues are apologists for the Republican position.” Calling Khana’s idea “nice,” Pelosi went on to state “that isn’t what we’re going to do,” adding that “nobody’s waiting until February.” Acknowledging that “people need help now” and that she wants to strike a deal, Pelosi explained, “it’s no use giving them a false thing just because the president wants to put a check with his name on it in the mail.”

Blitzer continued, pushing Pelosi on why she has not yet called the president directly in an effort to work out an agreement. Pelosi has previously opened up about her decision not to speak directly with the president, and responded to Blitzer by stating, “What makes me amused, if it weren’t so sad, is how you all think that you know more about the suffering of the American people than those of us who are elected by them to represent them at that table.”

When Blitzer asked Pelosi if there was a reluctance to make a deal to “not allow the president to take credit if there’s a deal,” the House Speaker said, “I don’t care about that.” She added, “With all due respect, and you know we’ve known each other a long time, you really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The interview grew more heated when Blitzer attempted to end it, acknowledging that “these are incredibly difficult times right now, and we’ll leave it on that note.” Pelosi, however, fired back, stating that Blitzer is “not right on this… I feel confident about it, and I feel confident about my colleagues, and I feel confidence in my [committee] chairs.” Blitzer’s second attempt to conclude the interview again led to an interjection from Pelosi, with Blitzer eventually saying, “We’ll continue this conversation down the road for sure” before it cut to commercial break.