Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is pushing a different view of truth.
This week, the former speaker of the House said that Vice President Kamala Harris “won an open primary” and was then the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.
The party that talks a lot about democracy put Harris up without any competition through a closed process. It wasn’t “open.”
“Our primary was open, and she won. The idea was that she was so smart about politics that no one else would run,” Pelosi said.
“People might have jumped in. Though some people were getting ready, she just took off with it.” Pelosi continued, “And actually, it was a blessing because there wasn’t that much time between then and the election, and it saved time. It wasn’t that the process wasn’t open. No one got in because she got off to a fast start.”
The reporter Pelosi was talking to, Kadia Goba from Semafor, didn’t dispute what Pelosi said, which was a shame. So, the reporter asked another question about January 6.
At best, Pelosi’s story changes the facts of events. In the worst case, it’s a lie.
In order to choose who would replace President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party did not hold an open primary. Also, Harris did not get a single vote in the Democratic presidential primary.
Not only that, but calling any of this year’s Democratic processes “open” might be going too far. This includes the primary and the race to replace Joe Biden on the ballot.
"We had an open primary and [Kamala Harris] won it. Nobody else got in the race," @SpeakerPelosi tells @kadiagoba. pic.twitter.com/y2O0JhKBgc
— Semafor (@semafor) September 18, 2024
In fact, the Democratic Party worked hard to keep Democrats who weren’t called Joe Biden from running in the primary elections. Biden pretty much ran unopposed in a lot of places, like North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alaska, New Hampshire, Indiana, Montana, Delaware, and Florida. In those places, the Democratic Party used small details of the law to keep people from having more choices.
Pelosi and other Democratic Party leaders finally seemed to force Biden out of the race in the middle of July, after weeks of pressure after his terrible performance in the debate. At the same time, Democrats, donors, and party delegates quickly switched their support to Harris, making it impossible for an early open primary to happen.
