It was early in the morning on October 28, 2022, and she was in her apartment in Washington, DC. She was woken up by the Capitol Police and told that her husband, Paul, had been attacked at their home in San Francisco. The attacker had come for Pelosi, to punish her for being the "leader of the pack" against the former president Donald Trump. Paul suffered hammer blows to his head and doctors had to reshape his skull to save his life. Pelosi says she has been struggling with guilt ever since, but the attack seems to have strengthened the 84-year-old leader's resolve to lead the fight against Trump.
Former speaker of the US House of Representatives, Pelosi, spoke with THE WEEK on August 12 about the Democratic Party's campaign against Trump in the presidential elections. She sounded upbeat about the chances of Vice President Kamala Harris and said that she looked forward to not being the most powerful woman in American politics after Harris's victory against Trump.
About nudging President Joe Biden to quit the presidential race, she felt that the decision was about winnability. "You make every decision in favour of winning. And I wanted the decision to be as strong as possible," she said. She also spoke about the legislative records of Biden and Barack Obama, the limits of bipartisanship and the potential of India-US relations. Edited excerpts from the exclusive interview:
Q/ In your latest book, The Art of Power, you explain how you famously tangled with Donald Trump when he was president. You were a target, your home was a target, and your husband was attacked. The US is now in yet another election season. Do the scars still remain?
This story is from the August 25, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the August 25, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.
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