Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is under fire for appearing to lie about Kamala Harris’s rise to the top of the Democratic Presidential ticket. Pelosi had previously called for an open primary if Joe Biden stepped down, and during a recent interview, she was reminded of her previous stance. The senior Democrat said she hadn’t changed her mind about the issue and claimed, “We had an open primary, and she won it. Nobody else got in the race.”
Pelosi went on to explain that any Democrat could have jumped into the contest, but Harris generated such excitement that her colleagues elected not to disturb her momentum, particularly given the time frame and the speed at which Harris had to catch up to Donald Trump.
When President Biden dropped out of the race in July, he immediately endorsed Harris as his replacement, giving her what Pelosi called “a running start.” In a virtual roll call prior to the Democratic National Convention in August, Harris had 99% support as the only candidate who qualified. Three Democrats reportedly sought to challenge the Vice President but could not obtain the 300 delegate signatures needed to do so.
Nevertheless, conservatives have dismissed Ms. Pelosi’s claims. Ryan Walker, of the Heritage Action For America group, affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, said, “Saying she won an open primary is a joke.” Beth Martin, president of Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, called Pelosi a liar, stating that the former Speaker was also dishonest about Joe Biden’s cognitive health, so it came as no surprise that she would lie about Harris’s ascent.
Donald Trump famously refers to Biden’s replacement by Harris as a political “coup,” but experts say this an inaccurate. Jeremy Mayer of George Mason University’s Schar School of Public Policy and Government said the Democrats did not break any election laws, and there is nothing in the Constitution governing internal party selection procedures, so descriptions of “unconstitutional” are equally false.
American University professor Leonard Steinhorn agreed and believes that the Republican Party would have done the same thing if Donald Trump had withdrawn.
