Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., accused President Donald Trump of “mental incapacity” during a recent interview with ABC News—despite admitting she did not actually watch his speech to the nation.
“I didn’t even think about his speech, but I did see some of it in the news afterward, and I think it was a demonstration of his mental incapacity,” Pelosi told ABC’s Jonathan Karl in a clip that aired Sunday on This Week.
Pelosi said she chose not to watch the address, explaining that she had “had enough” of the president. Still, she did not hesitate to publicly criticize Trump, continuing a pattern of weighing in on his presidency even when acknowledging she lacked firsthand exposure to the event in question.
When pressed by Karl to explain her remarks, Pelosi added, “Well, that was a ridiculous speech. Of course, we were all offended because of what he said about Rob Reiner… and Michele just a few days before, after the tragedy. Something’s wrong there, and something’s wrong with the people around him that they don’t stop him from his ridiculousness.”
During the speech, Trump said he had brought the nation back from “the brink of ruin” in less than a year back in office, sharply criticized Democrats, and touted that he had made America the “hottest country” in the world. As expected, reactions to the politically charged address largely fell along partisan lines, as Trump continues to face negative polling on the nation’s economic outlook.
Pelosi’s attack on Trump’s mental capacity comes with notable irony, given her role in 2024 in pressuring President Joe Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee—a move that fractured their long-standing political relationship.
Before Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump last June, Pelosi had been one of the most vocal defenders of Biden’s mental sharpness. She publicly dismissed concerns about his cognitive decline and criticized a Wall Street Journal report detailing issues behind the scenes.
Earlier that year, Pelosi praised Biden as “very sharp” and “always on the ball.”
However, according to a book by Chris Whipple, Pelosi privately told a friend that Biden had “lost a step” last year. After Biden’s debate struggles became impossible to ignore, Pelosi’s carefully worded comments on Morning Joe—which avoided endorsing his insistence on staying in the race—signaled that her confidence had waned.
Biden ultimately dropped out of the race, but the fallout with Pelosi has lingered. The two longtime allies have not spoken since.
Pelosi has consistently maintained that she did not push Biden to withdraw, claiming instead that she merely urged him to look honestly at polling data showing the steep odds he faced.
Still, her latest remarks underscore a familiar dynamic: Pelosi distancing herself from accountability for her years of Democratic leadership failures while remaining eager to criticize President Trump—this time without even watching the speech she condemned.
