Nancy Pelosi calls out Mitch McConnell for 'racist' tactics

Thomas Novelly | Courier Journal

This story may be updated.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's actions were "unthinkable" if not "racist" for incessantly opposing former President Barack Obama during his presidency.

The California Democrat made her comments Sunday morning during an interview with MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart.

"...when the Republicans took power when President Obama was president of the United States, what Mitch McConnell said is 'the most important thing we can do is to make sure he does not succeed,'” Pelosi said. “If that wasn’t a racist statement — that is unthinkable. We worked with President Bush, although we had our differences."

Pelosi was referring to an October 2010 interview with the National Journal when McConnell said, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

A spokeswoman for McConnell said the quote that Pelosi attributed to the Kentucky Republican was inaccurate, citing an article from independent fact checkers at FactCheck.org.

From Friday: 'Economy is hot' because of GOP tax reform bill, Mitch McConnell says

"Why did (McConnell) say that? Why did he say that,” Pelosi said during the interview. “So I think that when you ask that question, you’re attributing a higher set of values to the speaker and to leader McConnell than is worthy of their actions.”

McConnell's most notable stonewall of Obama's presidency came when he blocked Obama's Supreme Court justice nominee after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

The Kentucky Republican delayed confirmation hearings long enough to allow President Donald Trump to appoint Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was confirmed in April 2017 and who has since helped secure numerous 5-4 decisions in favor of the Supreme Court's conservative bloc on issues such as Trump's travel ban, internet sales tax and abortion advocacy.

Pelosi also took aim at President Trump.

“We’re going backward ... everything he has done, whether it’s taking babies out of the arms of their moms, whether it’s issues that relate to health care in our country,” Pelosi said on MSNBC. “His whole thing is make America white again."

Pelosi, a member of Congress since 1987, is vying to become Speaker of the House once again if Democrats manage to gain control.

"None of us is indispensable, but I think I am the best person for the job," Pelosi said. "I, better than anybody, know how important it is for us to win this election because I see up close and personal what the Republicans and this president are doing ... And I won't let the Republican ads, which are just flooding these districts, I say to candidates: Do whatever you have to do, just win, baby."

Thomas Novelly: tnovelly@courierjournal.com, 502-582-4465. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/tomn.