Nancy Pelosi described President Joe Biden as a “Mount Rushmore kind of president” and even suggested he could be added to the monument during a CBS Sunday Morning segment with Leslie Stahl.
“You got Teddy Roosevelt up there, and he’s wonderful.” the former speaker said. “I don’t say take him down, but you can add Biden.”
Clips of the on air exchange went viral, trending on X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after the broadcast. In particular a number of right-wing politicians and pundits fumed about the seemingly flippant suggestion.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD)—where Mount Rushmore is located—chimed in with her own post, writing “Sorry Nancy, Mount Rushmore is not a place to celebrate someone who lied about his mental decline, willfully and knowingly endangered the lives of the American people, crushed American families, undermined the Constitution, and weakened our country at home and abroad.”
“Was Nancy sober when she said this?” posted Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. The Pelosi sobriety question may have been a reference to a 2019 disinformation campaign that circulated video clips altered to make Pelosi drunkenly slur her words.
Even Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy got in on the action, posting: “In an election cycle filled with a constant game of who can say the dumbest shit you’ve ever heard in your life this one takes the cake.”
President Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones called the former speaker’s comments “a truly sick joke.”
Pelosi’s personal X account made no mention of her proposed addition to the national monument, and instead posted part of her segment with Stahl focusing on Jan. 6.