Pelosi Denies ‘Tension’ with AOC as She Praises ‘Star’ Democrat’s Future

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) denied there being past “tensions” with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) as she praised the “star” Democrat amid 2028 rumors.

Pelosi joined MS NOW’s The Weekend where Jacqueline Alemany wrapped up the interview by asking about Ocasio-Cortez. She noted the congresswoman has become a more “prominent voice” in her party after initial “public tensions” with Pelosi and Democratic leadership. She asked Pelosi whether she had moved into more of a “mentoring” role with Ocasio-Cortez. Both Democrats are currently attending the Munich Security Conference.

Pelosi said:

All I said to people who say, “you have this tension,” we didn’t have any attention. All I said is, if you want to be a legislator and pass bills, it’s important to have the votes to do it. It doesn’t help to go online and criticize the people that you want to have because they’re not as progressive as you are. She’s been a star, eloquent, forceful, and the rest. And she gets along very well with Hakeem Jeffries. They have a New York connection, but I’m so glad she’s here.

Asked whether Ocasio-Cortez should be aiming for a White House run, Pelosi sidestepped the question, saying she’s been asked endlessly about the 2028 prospects for not only Ocasio-Cortez, but also California Governor Gavin Newsom (D). She also slammed Democrats challenging incumbents, arguing they don’t have that “luxury” in the current political climate.

She said:

Do you know how many times I’ve been asked that question about so many people, mostly Gavin Newsom because he was here as well. I always just leave those things up to people, and when they want my help or my suggestion, they’ll ask me. But in the meantime, I wish them all well because our party has is a big tent. We have lots of opinions within it. But I will say this, we must win this election. So I’m not happy about those who are deciding that they’re going to challenge incumbents for one reason or another. That’s the Democratic way, but don’t use it as something that could hurt other Democrats across the country because we must win. After that, we can get things done across the spectrum of beliefs in our party, and then there’s more of a luxury to go after each other. But for now, we need the unity. As I always say, our unity, our diversity is our strength.

Watch above via MS NOW.

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