Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the inauguration of Mr. Biden and Harris was the start of “one of the most successful presidencies of modern times.”
She ticked off the list of legislation enacted when Democrats controlled the House in the first two years of Mr. Biden’s administration, including a sweeping infrastructure package and their signature climate, tax and health care plan.
“All thanks to President Biden’s patriotic vision of a fairer America, doing so with liberty and justice for all. Thank you Joe,” she said. “And I know that Vice President Harris is ready to take us to new heights.”
Pelosi’s comments about Mr. Biden come amid reports the president is upset she pushed him to exit the presidential race. As the president was working to bolster support for his candidacy from congressional Democrats last month, the California Democrat appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and declined to explicitly back his reelection bid.
During her convention speech, Pelosi praised Harris, calling her a “person of deep faith” and a “leader of strength, with wisdom and eloquence on policy.”
The California Democrat invoked the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, and encouraged attendees to remember Trump’s role in the attack.
“Never before had a president of the United States so brazenly assaulted the bedrock of our democracy, so gleefully embraced political violence, so willfully betrayed his oath of office,” she said. “Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on Jan. 6. He did. But let us not forget who saved democracy that day. We did.”
She said the events of Jan. 6 underscore the importance of electing leaders who support free and fair elections, and respect the peaceful transfer of presidential power.
“The choice couldn’t be clearer. Those leaders are Vice President Harris and Governor Walz,” she said. “When the sun rose on Jan. 7, as our national anthem declares, we ‘gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.’ Now, in this election, we are called upon to do the same, to stand together, to reject autocracy, to choose democracy.”
She closed by saying the nation will do just that in electing Harris for president, Walz for vice president, and flipping control of the House to Democrats.