Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

Jim Acosta, Dem Guest Left Grasping At Straws After CNN Panelist Explains How Pelosi Used J6 For ‘Partisan Gain’

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CNN host Jim Acosta and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona on Monday were left searching for arguments to combat a Republican strategist who described how then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to use the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol for “partisan gain.”

Hundreds of people stormed the Capitol building during the certification of the electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021, with the FBI making over 1,500 arrests related to the riot, according to a report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Acosta asked Republican strategist Brad Todd about whether President-elect Donald Trump should apologize, prompting Todd to discuss Pelosi’s handling of the Jan. 6 committee.

“I wouldn’t expect Donald Trump would apologize, I think, nor do I expect Democrats to apologize for trying to undo his presidency by all legal and extra-legal means after that,” Todd said before Acosta cut in saying, “Oh, come on, Brad.”

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“Jim, look at our own polling,” Todd responded. “Look at CNN’s own exit polling. Voters who said they voted on democracy were evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. January 6th was a dark day on the history of our country. Donald Trump bears a lot of responsibility for that. It’s something that should stain his legacy forever. However, voters, they punished him for it. That’s why he was behind Ron DeSantis by 20 points until Alvin Bragg indicted him. And once voters decided that Democrats were determined to prevent Donald Trump from being elected by any extra-legal means, they decided maybe this wasn’t as clear.”

Trump led Vice President Kamala Harris, 52% to 47% among the 39% of voters who told CNN democracy was “very threatened” in the network’s exit poll. Harris and her running mate, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota,  escalated attacks on Trump, with Harris devoting a major speech on Oct. 30 to attacking the former president as a “petty tyrant” days after calling Trump a “fascist” during a CNN town hall.

President Joe Biden repeatedly labeled Trump and his supporters “a threat to democracy,” most notably during a Sept. 1, 2022, speech in Philadelphia.

“Shouldn’t your party have just rejected him, flat-out rejected him, from Kevin McCarthy to Mitch McConnell to the whole lot of them?” Acosta asked Todd. “How could your party let him be nominee again?”

Todd then reminded Acosta and Cardona that then-Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California and Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky condemned Trump’s comments at a rally on Jan.6 before turning to Pelosi’s actions.

“Nancy Pelosi decided to use Jan. 6th for partisan gain… She refused to let McCarthy appoint Republicans to the committee, she didn’t let Republicans hire staff to the Jan. 6 oversight committee, they didn’t allow cross-examination of witnesses-” Todd said.

Acosta interrupted Todd, noting that then-Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming was on the committee, claiming she was “the Republican of all Republicans.”

“She was not appointed by her conference,” Todd responded.

Pelosi appointed Cheney and then-Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, both outspoken Trump critics, to the Jan. 6 committee after she blocked Republican Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Banks of Indiana from serving on the panel. Aside from Cheney and Kinzinger, House Republicans boycotted the committee in response to Pelosi’s decision to keep Jordan and Banks off.

Pelosi also expressed a desire to punch Trump prior to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

“I hope [Trump] comes [to the Capitol], I’m gonna punch him out,” Pelosi said in footage aired by CNN. “I’ve been waiting for this. For trespassing on the Capitol grounds. I’m gonna punch him out and I’m gonna go to jail and I’m gonna be happy.”

Pelosi later spearheaded an impeachment resolution targeting Trump over the riot, but Trump was acquitted by the Senate in February 2021.