Pelosi Explodes At CNN’s Jake Tapper Over Question About Harris Competency

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a sharp response to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday after he raised former President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris.

During a rally in Savannah, Georgia, Trump escalated his ongoing critique of the Biden-Harris administration, claiming Harris faces “bigger cognitive problems” than President Joe Biden.

At the rally, Trump denounced the administration’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, pointing out the deaths of 13 servicemembers and the military equipment left behind. However, his remarks regarding Harris quickly became the focal point of the discussion.

Trump suggested that Harris’s cognitive abilities were even more questionable than Biden’s, who has faced scrutiny over his mental fitness, particularly after ending his 2024 campaign following a CNN debate in late June.

In an interview with Pelosi, Tapper read out Trump’s comments to get her reaction. Pelosi, however, was visibly frustrated with the direction of the conversation.

“Why would you even cover that?! This is a person who’s not on the level,” Pelosi retorted, seemingly agitated. “He is their nominee for President. He is incompetent. Let’s not even talk about the silliness of it all. And the weirdness of it all. And the assault on women that it is. We’re not gonna talk issues.”

A Fox News focus group, largely composed of independents, had a significant change of opinion following the Trump-Biden debate. Ten of the 15 participants shifted their support from Biden to Trump after witnessing Biden’s difficulties during the CNN debate in Atlanta.

“Cognitive ability … this is the highest office, and for me, it’s very important that I trust the executive to understand and be cognitively competent,” said one focus group member who changed their preference from Biden to Trump, as reported by Fox News.

Biden, who has been facing growing concerns about his mental and physical fitness, aimed to quell doubts about his ability to serve another term as president. However, his debate performance seemed to only intensify those concerns among many voters.

“From the very first moment, Biden looked old, hard to understand, confused, saying scary things, and just throwing mud,” said FOX Business’ Larry Kudlow after the debate concluded.

This sentiment resonated with the Fox focus group, including one member who stated that simply rewatching the debate would make it clear that Trump was the better option.

“I’ve lived four years with Trump. I lived three and a half years with [Biden],” the member shared with the moderator. “I’ll take the other four.”

Although Biden received some praise from focus group members for his views on taxes and child care, his overall demeanor left many unconvinced that he was fit for another term.

“I don’t think anyone is going to remember anything he said tonight,” one participant noted. “They’re going to remember how he said it.”

An op-ed from the editorial board of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, published after the debate, echoed concerns from voices on the left urging Biden to step down from the race. The board pointed to his appearance during the debate—raspy, vacant, and struggling to speak coherently—as reasons for him to withdraw.

“The shade of retirement is now necessary for President Biden,” the editorial board wrote, arguing that stepping aside would be “for the good of the country.” They concluded that Biden had failed to present a “competent and coherent vision for the future of America.”