Pelosi suggests Trump could skip presidential debate against Harris: “I know cowardice when I see it”

AUSTIN, Texas – Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested former President Trump might stay away from the upcoming presidential debate out of “cowardice,” but the Republican candidate’s campaign team insisted she was merely trying to spread “fake news.”

Pelosi appeared at the Texas Tribune Festival over the weekend, where she spoke with journalist Kara Swisher about a variety of topics before signing copies of her latest book. Pelosi spent a lot of time criticizing Trump, ramping up her anger as the highly anticipated ABC News presidential debate approached on Tuesday.

Swisher asked Pelosi what advice she would give former President Trump before the face-off with Harris. Pelosi, 84, quipped, “Do you think he'll show up?”

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The predominantly liberal audience burst into laughter, followed by applause, while Pelosi smiled slightly.

Swisher asked, “Do you know something I don’t know?”

“I know cowardice when I see it,” Pelosi replied.

Swisher then said she assumed Pelosi agreed with former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who had called Trump a “misogynistic pig” on the same stage at an earlier Trib Fest event.

“Isn’t she wonderful?” Pelosi said of Cheney.

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In 2020, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ripped up her printed copy of President Trump's State of the Union address immediately after he finished addressing a joint session of Congress. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

At the beginning of the conversation, Pelosi told Swisher that her current position was “Speaker Emerita,” but that “Speaker” was still her title.

The Trump team dismissed Pelosi's suggestion that the former president would stay away from the debate as “fake news.”

“Nancy Pelosi has no idea what she's talking about and she's been proven to be a liar and a fraud. When she's not busy giving herself false titles to make herself feel better, she's spreading fake news because that's all she's ever done,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital.

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Pelosi and Trump have long been hostile towards one another, repeatedly exchanging insults over the years. In 2020, Pelosi famously ripped up her printed copy of Trump's State of the Union address immediately after he finished addressing a joint session of Congress.

Trump and Harris are scheduled to debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening.