SASSY NANCY: Pelosi doesn’t hold back when asked about the insurrectionist who broke into her office
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) didn’t mince words when asked about the January 6th rioter who broke into her office, on an episode of the Mornings with Zerlina podcast.
“How did that make you feel, to see a random man with his feet up on your desk?” host Zerlina Maxwell asked.
“I thought, ‘You are a pathetic creature, Mister, if you think that you’re exerting your manhood by putting your feet on my desk,’” Madame Speaker responded.
She went on to say:
“I had bigger issues. I was more concerned about the trauma I saw in the eyes of my staff who had to hide under tables, and behind boxes. That was more of a priority.”
Richard Barnett, the man in the photo, was arrested just days after the breach.
The 60-year-old Gravette, Arkansas man was indicted of multiple federal charges including Obstruction of an Official Proceeding; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Entering and Remaining in Certain Rooms in the Capitol Building; Theft of Government Property, according to the Justice Department.
Barnett has pleaded not guilty.
In a video shown during the televised House Select Committee on January 6th hearings, Rep. Pelosi’s rational, methodical, and authoritative actions during the violent attack on the Capitol refuted right-wing talking points that the Speaker refused National Guard intervention and did nothing during the assault.
“There’s nothing they can say that bothers me,” Speaker Pelosi said.
When Maxwell asked Madame Speaker, “Do you ever feel afraid?” Pelosi told the host:
“The only time I experienced fear was not myself, but for my staff. For my members of congress, for members of the press – for the people who were in the Capitol, on the assault on the Capitol.”
“The trauma it caused among people. Now, I sign up for it, I run for office. I’m the Speaker, I have a lot of security because I’m second in line to the presidency. So I wasn’t worried about myself, but I was fearful for my staff, my colleagues, members of congress, and the rest. Fear that the President would incite an insurrection in the Capitol of the United States. Attacking our Constitution, our Congress, our country, our democracy.”
Barnett even set up a fundraiser for his defense, where $100 would get the contributor a signed photo of him inside Pelosi’s office as a “token of his appreciation,” according to The Washington Post.
But the insurrectionist will get no sympathy from the Speaker of the House, who told Maxwell:
“So just, you know — understand this. This moment will pass for you as far as we are concerned, but it’ll always be on your record, that you disrespected the Constitution of the United States. Explain that to your children.”
Original reporting by Candace Ortiz at Mediaite.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
