Nancy Pelosi insisted on Wednesday that the Democratic presidential nomination process was “open.” She said Vice President Kamala Harris “won it,” even though no formal contest took place.
Before Biden stepped down, Pelosi supported an open primary process. On Wednesday, she doubled down. When asked about Harris’ rise, she said, “No, I didn’t change my mind. We had an open primary and Kamala won it.”
Pelosi explained, “Yes, people could have jumped in… but she just took off with it.” She added it was a blessing due to the limited time before the election.
Biden dropped out in July, endorsing Harris immediately. The DNC held a virtual roll call in August, where Harris won 99% of the delegates’ support.
However, critics argue this was not a true contest. Ryan Walker from Heritage Action called the process a “joke,” saying Harris has never won a single vote for president.
Tea Party Patriots president Jenny Beth Martin added, “Pelosi lied about Biden’s condition… Now she’s lying about the ‘open’ process that led to Kamala’s nomination.”
Experts, however, say nothing illegal happened. George Mason University’s Jeremy Mayer noted, “It’s not a coup, as some would say.” Others pointed out the GOP might have done the same if faced with a similar situation.
Leonard Steinhorn of American University said with so little time left, Harris acted quickly. “Why would anyone else run?” he asked.
Mayer added that the process wasn’t entirely unprecedented. Harris was chosen through a convention, like candidates from 1832 to 1968. Steinhorn compared Harris’ rise to Gerald Ford, who also avoided primaries.
Pelosi reiterated on “The View” last week that the process was open. “She just locked it up,” she said, defending Harris’ nomination.