Nancy Pelosi stumbles on CNN after being pressed on call-out at SOTU over congressional stock trading
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared on CNN Tuesday, when she was asked to respond to President Donald Trump singling her out while speaking about congressional stock trading during his State of the Union address.
"There was one moment, Madam Speaker, where he called you out specifically around, of course, congressional stock trading. What do you say back to him?" CNN's Kasie Hunt asked.
"I say back to him, as that's what members said, look at your own self," Pelosi responded haltingly. "The inference he wants to draw is there was something wrong with that, which there wasn't, and if there was, people get prosecuted for it. For a long time now we've been trying to pass this law. It doesn't have — now it has more support than it had before, and —"
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Before the former House speaker could finish her thought, Hunt interrupted, noting that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., "stood and applauded" when the president spoke about the topic.
"Well, we all did. I did too," the former House speaker shot back. "He said, ‘Did Nancy stand up?’ Yeah, I did too. A lot of people stood up, a lot of Democrats stood up."
Trump called out insider trading on Capitol Hill during his address on Tuesday, urging Congress to "pass the Stop Insider Trading Act without delay" while also taking a shot at Pelosi.
"Let’s also ensure that members of Congress cannot corruptly profit from using insider information," Trump said, prompting members of both parties to stand.
Trump responded, "They stood up for that. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. Did Nancy Pelosi stand up — if she’s here? Doubt it."
Pelosi and her venture capitalist husband, Paul, have long drawn scrutiny for his lucrative trading during her long career in politics, during which the couple has become exceptionally wealthy. The New York Times reported in December on the "widespread perception that she was on the wrong side of the debate over congressional stock trading" which had put an "asterisk" on her legacy.
The Stop Insider Trading Act, introduced by Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., would ban members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks and require advance public notice before any sale, aiming to go beyond the 2012 STOCK Act’s reporting requirements.
A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Pelosi was applauding until Trump called her out.
Trump also announced a new retirement savings proposal for workers without access to employer matching, promising the federal government would match contributions up to $1,000 a year so more Americans can benefit from market gains.
Fox News Digital previously reached out to Pelosi's office for comment, but did not receive a response.
Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.