Nancy Pelosi tears into ‘the Squad’ in new book

Nancy Pelosi tears into ‘the Squad’ and tells them ‘this is not a one-person show, this is the United States Congress’

  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unloaded on the so-called ‘Squad’ during an interview with Susan Page for her forthcoming biography of Pelosi 
  • Pelosi adopted a child-like voice when talking about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 31-year-old ringleader of the group
  • In the book titled, ‘Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power,’ Pelosi gives the progressive cohort blunt advice 
  • ‘You’re not a one-person show. This is the Congress of the United States,’ Pelosi told ‘the Squad,’ during one of her interviews with Page 
  • Pelosi also takes on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the book and recalls her first call with now ex-President Donald Trump after the 2016 election
  • During the call, Trump reminder her how he had previously been a ‘supporter’ and put her on the phone with Ivanka Trump to talk women’s issues 
  • Pelosi also revealed to Page that she had planned to retire from Congress after Hillary Clinton’s win, but stayed in office once Trump was elected  


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unloaded on ‘the Squad’ when talking about the progressive cohort to author Susan Page, whose book ‘Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power’ come out next week. 

Axios reported some early details on Monday, including that Pelosi adopted a child-like voice when talking about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 31-year-old ringleader of the group, who was previously the youngest member of Congress. 

In the book, Pelosi gives ‘the Squad’ blunt advice: ‘You’re not a one-person show. This is the Congress of the United States.’  

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unloaded on the so-called ‘Squad’ during one of her sit-downs with journalist Susan Page for the new biography, ‘Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power’ 

Page described Pelosi as speaking in a child-like voice when referencing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (pictured) and said to the progressive foursome, 'This is not a one-person show, this is the Congress of the United States'

Page described Pelosi as speaking in a child-like voice when referencing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (pictured) and said to the progressive foursome, ‘This is not a one-person show, this is the Congress of the United States’ 

'The Squad' originally included (from left) Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley. Pelosi unloaded on the foursome in an interview with Page in July 2019

‘The Squad’ originally included (from left) Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley. Pelosi unloaded on the foursome in an interview with Page in July 2019 

'Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power' comes out next Tuesday and includes details like Pelosi's first call with the newly elected Donald Trump

‘Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power’ comes out next Tuesday and includes details like Pelosi’s first call with the newly elected Donald Trump 

Page, USA Today’s Washington bureau chief, spoke to Pelosi 10 times for the biography. 

Pelosi told friends and family to participate in the process too. 

Pelosi didn’t hold back in her assessment of some of her colleagues. 

In their second sit-down, which occurred in July 2019, Page said Pelosi’s dispute with ‘the Squad’ had ‘exploded.’ 

‘Her anger at the four new progressive congresswomen was palpable,’ Page recalled.   

Pelosi also told Page that Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, ‘is not a force for good in the country.’ 

‘He is an enabler of some of the worst stuff, and an instigator of some of it on his own,’ Pelosi said. 

In an excerpt from the book posted on USA Today’s website Friday, Page captures Pelosi’s first conversation with now former President Donald Trump after he won the 2016 race.  

Pelosi, then in the minority, called Trump at Trump Tower to congratulate him on his win and offer her hope that they could work together. 

‘Nancy, me too,’ Trump replied. ‘We’ll get some good things done.’ 

Trump told Pelosi that she could deliver ‘better than anybody.’ 

‘Don’t forget, I was a supporter of yours,’ Trump told the Democratic leader, a reference to a donation he had made to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee before becoming a Republican. ‘I think you’re terrific.’  

Pelosi suggested to the incoming president that he schedule a session to talk to the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues. 

He put her on the phone with Ivanka Trump. ‘Talk to my daughter about it,’ Trump said.  

‘Now it was Pelosi’s turn to be surprised. The House Democratic leader found herself listening to Trump’s thirty-five-year-old daughter, whose résumé mostly involved working on enterprises named Trump, relay her thoughts on childcare policy,’ Page wrote. 

Page also revealed that Pelosi had planned to retire after the 2016 election of Hillary Clinton, as Clinton would have eclipsed her as the highest-ranking woman in American political history. 

With Trump coming into office, that didn’t happen. 

The pain of Trump’s election ‘was physical, it was actually physical,’ Pelosi told Page. 

‘Like a mule kicking you in the back over and over again,’ Pelosi said.