Pelosi gets candid on her legacy, GOP redistricting and hurdles to a female pres.

[0:00] Speaker Emerita, Nancy Pelosi, thank you for sitting down with us. [0:03] My pleasure. [0:03] We were talking a little bit outside about the ways that the political dynamics around the map are shifting. [0:10] California doing redistricting, Texas, Maryland here potentially a stalled push. [0:15] But I wonder, when you see redistricting and changing the maps like this, [0:19] it looks like it's just making more safe districts across the country. [0:23] And it dovetails with a conversation that you've been faced with of incumbents facing primary challengers. [0:32] And I wonder if you see primaries, if more seats are getting safe, [0:36] as the only place that voters could potentially air their grievances with whoever is elected from either party. [0:42] Well, with all due respect, I disagree with that. [0:44] In other words, when we redistricted in California, [0:48] members had to give up Democrats in order to create five new Democratic seats. [0:52] So this was not making. [0:54] Anybody's district safer. [0:56] That was not. [0:57] And in fact, that's the kind of the beauty of it all that we would not have done this. [1:03] We don't like redistricting in the middle of a decade. [1:08] But since the president insisted on go grabbing some votes in Texas, [1:13] then we're not going to unilaterally disarm. [1:16] Then we'll do that in California. [1:18] But I'm amused because our members were very generous to give up membership. [1:23] So their districts were not made safe. [1:24] They were safer. [1:25] So is that the thing that we get wrong about this conversation that redistricting where we say, [1:30] oh, it's five seats that go red in Texas or five that go blue in California, [1:34] that it's not safe to presume those seats, you know? [1:38] Well, I don't think they're going to get five in Texas. [1:41] I think we'll do well in California. [1:43] But it's when we when we had the proposition on the ballot. [1:49] Yeah. [1:49] 50. [1:51] It was important to us that we win big in the proposition. [1:55] And people said, oh, you'll win 55, 45 anyway. [1:57] I said, no, I don't want that. [1:59] We need to be in the 60s because we're going to have to win these seats if we're going to save our democracy. [2:06] And so it was not a given that if we redrew that they would all come become Democrat unless we had a big victory. [2:16] And so it is again one step one was that the delegation, the California Democrats in Congress had to be willing [2:25] to add five seats. [2:27] Now, that means if you're adding five seats, you're taking many Democrats out of existing districts. [2:34] So it makes their reelection harder and the other districts challenging, but pro-democratic. [2:41] And we expect that we will win those. [2:43] But the important thing was to win big on the redistricting initiative so that we were going to win big on the number of seats. [2:53] Oh, we already have an overwhelming number. [2:56] Well, it was 43, 53. [2:58] We have 43. [2:59] No, it's 43 Democrats, nine Republicans. [3:04] Now it'll go up higher and a bigger margin for the Democrats. [3:08] You know, I think the thing going into the midterms and we'll explore the midterms and all elections after. [3:13] But, you know, I think one of the things that you've asked Democrats is we can have our differences, but let's stay united right now in the short term. [3:21] And yet there is, I think, a lot of anger from the base when I talk to voters. [3:25] They say, I don't. [3:26] I don't think Democrats are doing enough, even if they can't detail what enough actually would look like. [3:31] And some of that ire is directed at people like Chuck Schumer, who we've worked with for a long time. [3:36] I wonder if you think the criticisms that he's getting are fair. [3:39] Well, we're always a subject of displeasure at Congress. [3:45] It always has been. [3:47] But I would say this, and that is what is at stake in this election? [3:52] And I laugh when I say to people this is the most important election of our time. [3:56] Of course, they've heard me say that. [3:57] Yes, they always are. [3:58] Time and time again. [3:59] But it always gets to be more crucial. [4:01] But this is everything. [4:03] Our democracy is at stake. [4:05] And what is a democracy? [4:07] Free and fair elections, independent judiciary, separation of power, not having a monarch, separation of power, having a democracy, rule of law, due process, all of that. [4:20] That is all at risk. [4:22] So we have to win. [4:24] But we don't win by talking about that. [4:27] We win. [4:28] We win by addressing why we're in Congress, for the people. [4:33] And that is about making sure that we lower costs, that we fix what they're doing to the health care system, because that's a big cost issue as well as a health issue, and that we fight the corruption that is going on there. [4:48] So this redistricting is not just about elections. [4:52] It's about policy. [4:53] But if voters feel like, given the landscape that you're in, that Schumer and— [5:00] To an extent, Hakeem Jeffries, too, that they're not meeting the moment, what would you say to them to combat that view? [5:06] Well, I think that they will. [5:07] I— We went through this. [5:10] When we won our first race, when Harry Reid and I were the first-time leaders, having our own race, no presidential, just congressional, we just worked very hard to establish our priority for the election. [5:26] It was called New Direction for America 6406. [5:30] There were six bills that we would pass immediately upon winning, which we did, and by and large, one, we couldn't pass the Senate, but four, we passed, but people have to know, and that's why this is about messaging. [5:44] People have to know. [5:45] It's not just okay to have it. [5:47] You have to make sure it is well-known to the public, and that's what a campaign is about. [5:53] Is it well-known? [5:54] That's what a campaign is about, and that's what we're going into. [5:59] Okay. [6:00] And, people will see, every June, July, the people will see the—they know the difference. [6:04] They must know the difference between Democrats and Republicans. [6:07] Here, we have a situation where they have a terrible bill, which they call beautiful, [6:11] anything they call one thing you know is the other, but they took a trillion dollars out [6:16] of Medicaid. [6:17] They took a half a trillion dollars out of Medicare, hundreds of millions of dollars [6:22] out of food stamps to give tax cuts to the richest people in America. [6:27] It was sinful, criminal almost. [6:29] Yes. [6:30] did and we have to make sure people know that but it's not just about talking [6:36] about them what are we going to do I have every confidence that we will win [6:40] the house I don't have any doubt whatsoever we don't agonize over what [6:45] they're doing we organize around what we will be presenting and Hakeem is [6:51] masterful communicator and I when people see what is the difference what we are [6:59] committing to for the future elections are about the future it isn't about this [7:04] is what they did last time no this is what we're do next time elections are [7:08] about the future but if I look at this current moment that we're in right now [7:11] we watch as DHS is stretching into its longest shutdown a history was made at [7:17] the end of last year with the other longest shutdown I wonder when it looked [7:22] when you look at Friday isn't what Democrats have been asking for a vote to [7:26] reopen DHS without funding ice and border [7:29] problems [7:29] protection wasn't that was that why was that not enough no we were Democrats [7:35] voted for it right before right but but where is the breakdown coming if there's [7:40] not enough to even reopen this though whether we were prepared to vote for what [7:45] the Senate did which was exactly what you described which was to vote for [7:52] Department Homeland Security except ice that's what the Senate voted for in a [7:58] bipartisan way we were thinking [8:01] thinking the next day that we would probably be voting for that, except the Republicans [8:05] said they wouldn't do that. [8:07] So when you're saying what isn't enough, go ask them, go ask them. [8:12] What was not, what they didn't like about that bill is that it was not reinforcing the [8:19] negative behavior of ICE. [8:22] But would you, and you would have voted yes on the Senate's version of it? [8:26] Yeah, as long as it did not fund ICE, and it didn't. [8:30] And then I think if we look ahead to the midterm elections in 2026, you talk about the fact [8:34] that you are confident that Democrats will retake the House. [8:38] But I wonder if you have concerns about the midterm elections themselves, be it the way [8:41] that the administration is talking about potentially putting ICE at the polls, or the Supreme Court [8:46] limiting mail-in voting, or even redistricting that could confuse people about where they [8:51] can vote. [8:52] Do you have any concerns about the midterms? [8:55] Always. [8:56] We always have concerns. [8:57] But with this president, and he's Republican. [9:00] Republicans who have no commitment to the rule of law and doing things the appropriate [9:06] way, we're ready. [9:08] We have three purposes now. [9:10] One is to win the midterms. [9:12] Two is to make sure the elections are safe. [9:16] And three, to tell people what we will do when we win. [9:20] And that is the mission. [9:24] There's so many things that you can do to protect the election, and they are being done, [9:31] whether it's litigation, or legislation, or just mobilization, communication, all that. [9:39] But in addition to that, we have to be on guard as to what they may try to do to the [9:44] technology. [9:46] They may try to creep into the technology and create a false count. [9:51] How do you guard against that? [9:52] That's a challenge, and we're in California next week, not this week, but the week after [9:59] Easter. [10:00] We're having... [10:01] North and South, the ranking member will be chair soon, of the House Administration Committee, [10:09] come out and say what we are doing, North and South, so that people can have confidence [10:16] that we're on top of this situation. [10:19] We'll do it in other parts of the country as well, but we've gotten so many calls from [10:24] California, of course, that's where I hear them, that we will be doing that, so that [10:28] people have more confidence. [10:30] We'll participate sooner. [10:32] There's so many things that the Republicans will try to do to disrupt an election can [10:38] be avoided by early voting, by vote by mail, which the President says is cheating, except [10:46] he voted by mail, and his family voted by mail in this last election, which he lost [10:51] in Florida last week. [10:54] And so there's so many things that we can do to minimize the problem, and then focus [11:01] on the harder part. [11:03] I wonder one of the things that Democrats have been reluctant to talk about if they [11:06] take back the gavels, the chairmanships, control of the House, is impeachment. [11:12] And I wonder if you think back to the first impeachment, if you have regrets or reflections [11:18] about that being one of the hallmarks of a Democratic majority, and if that's something [11:23] that you think your colleagues are reluctant to talk about now as they're on the precipice [11:28] of potentially taking back the House again. [11:29] Well, we never were in a campaign that talked about impeachment. [11:31] No. [11:32] There was only one person responsible for the impeachment of Donald Trump, and his name [11:39] is Donald Trump. [11:40] He gave us no choice. [11:42] He gave us no choice. [11:44] He just was impeachable. [11:49] Now it doesn't, you don't go into campaigns and say we're looking to impeach him. [11:52] No, we'll see what he does. [11:54] But we had no choice. [11:55] But the Constitution, founders, our founders knew that we could have a rogue president. [12:02] What would disappoint them is they didn't know. [12:04] We would have a rogue United States Senate as well, and we would not act upon the evidence [12:11] that was there. [12:12] In both cases, they were bipartisan in the Senate as well, but not sufficient to convict [12:19] him. [12:20] Have you seen impeachable acts this second term of Trump? [12:23] Well, I think that I'm not, that's just not where we're starting with this. [12:29] When we get in power, we will have power to go there to do what we said we're going to [12:34] do. [12:34] Lower the cost of living. [12:37] Some people say you should use other language, but lower the cost of living. [12:43] A, B, fix what they have done to the healthcare system with their trillion dollars from Medicaid, [12:51] half a trillion dollars from Medicare, and the money from SNAP. [12:54] I do believe that food is medicine as well, especially for children, and again, fight [13:00] their corruption. [13:01] So that's what we're setting out to do. [13:03] But on the corruption piece. [13:04] I don't mean to belabor this. [13:06] It does feel like the corruption is something that I hear from voters who say, isn't this [13:11] worth impeaching over? [13:12] Isn't that worth impeaching over? [13:13] And I'm wondering if you see anything that fits under that umbrella. [13:16] Well, I think that you see tremendous, we have a convicted felon who's president of [13:21] the United States. [13:22] That was then, this is now. [13:24] I think that that's subject to review. [13:26] But I don't think that's something, I don't think where you start, if that's what you [13:30] have to do because of what he has done. [13:33] That's subject to great review. [13:35] We had great review as to what were the grounds for impeachment, and that's up to a new Congress [13:43] to come to that decision. [13:45] But the fact is that people want to know what we're doing for them. [13:51] I have no, you used the word regret, no regret about what we did. [13:55] That's what we had to do to honor our oath of office to the Constitution of the United [14:02] States. [14:03] If he's acting the way he was, he had to be impeached. [14:07] And he wants to change the narrative of January 6th, no, you can't, we could not let that happen. [14:14] He was the president of the United States who incited an insurrection, but it's no use [14:18] litigating what we did then. [14:20] You're asking about what comes next, that's up to the new Congress, and that's up to them [14:25] to decide where we go reviewing what he's done. [14:29] And that requires subpoena power, all the kinds of things that build a case. [14:32] Yeah. [14:33] It's not just about I feel like doing this. [14:35] Yeah. [14:36] I want to look ahead and then reflect in the last few minutes that we have about your legacy [14:42] in Congress. [14:43] But as I look ahead, I hear a lot of chatter going into 2028 about, oh, Democrats can't [14:48] have a female nominee again. [14:50] You've been a trailblazer in politics in this party. [14:53] They keep saying that because of 2016 and because of 2024, Clinton and Harris. [14:58] Do you think that that is fair? [15:01] No, I don't. [15:03] I think that, let me say this, backing up. [15:07] I always thought the American people were much more ready for a Madam President than [15:15] Congress was for a Madam Speaker, because it is a marble ceiling. [15:19] It's not a glass ceiling. [15:20] It's a marble ceiling. [15:22] And even in this century, when I ran for Speaker, this century, I'm not talking going back then, [15:27] they said, who said she could run? [15:29] And I said to them, I don't want you voting for me because I'm a woman, but I don't want [15:33] you voting against me because I'm a woman. [15:35] This is what I can do. [15:36] And so, I think that's a good thing. [15:37] But I always thought, oh, American people, they're receptive to this. [15:42] So I think they still are. [15:44] But campaigns are campaigns, and you have to go out there and make the case. [15:48] I think Hillary Clinton was, just going first place, the most qualified person of the generation, [15:55] more qualified than her husband, more qualified than George W. Bush, more qualified than Barack [16:01] Obama. [16:02] They all admit that. [16:03] Bush doesn't, but the others admit that. [16:04] Certainly, more qualified than the creature. [16:06] The creature that is there now. [16:10] But it was just a question of getting people, I guess, used to the idea, a woman could be [16:15] Commander in Chief. [16:16] Do you think you'll see it in your lifetime? [16:19] Well, not in my lifetime, because I'm old. [16:21] But it will come sometime. [16:23] It will come sometime soon. [16:24] There's just no question about it. [16:27] And it's not that women are better than men. [16:29] It's just we want to see the diversity of thinking there. [16:32] It's going to be very exciting. [16:33] It is going to be, I think, fascinating to watch how it happens. [16:36] Especially given the fact that it's going to be a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, [16:37] especially given the way that you blazed a trail to break a marble ceiling, as you call [16:42] it. [16:43] And I wonder, as you leave Congress, the way that you reflect on the Congress that you're [16:46] leaving, it does feel like members on both sides agree that the building and the institution [16:51] is broken right now. [16:53] And I wonder if you agree with that assessment. [16:55] Well, I think the Republicans have broken it on their side. [16:58] But I think that the members of Congress who go there know why they're there. [17:04] This is Article 1. [17:06] The legislative branch. [17:07] And we have a responsibility to the people. [17:10] The Republicans have decided to fold to the president. [17:16] They have abolished the Congress, actually. [17:18] But I don't think people think that the Congress is irretrievable. [17:25] And by the way, we look to our founders. [17:27] James Madison, who helped write the Constitution, he wrote the Bill of Rights. [17:31] He wanted to be part of the Constitution, but they said it can be addition. [17:36] So I got it, but not in. [17:38] But anyway, he served in the House before he became president. [17:43] And he said the House has a sympathetic relationship with the people. [17:49] And the House is a place where a president is elected. [17:54] And the following year, we're in a campaign as a test of what that president has done. [18:04] So you see that they had, what, he got elected in 16. [18:12] 17, we started our election for 18. [18:14] And we won. [18:15] George Bush, 05. [18:16] We started our, 04. [18:17] We started our campaign in 05. [18:18] And won in 06. [18:19] So that, there's a place, a very important place for it. [18:20] Our founders did not want a monarch. [18:21] That's why they said we don't want this person going around starting wars. [18:22] Congress shall declare war. [18:23] Money. [18:24] We don't want them to have control over money. [18:25] Power of the purse and the Congress. [18:26] So we have to take it back to what the oath of office calls for. [18:27] And that's why we're in the House. [18:28] We're in the House. [18:29] We're in the House. [18:30] We're in the House. [18:31] We're in the House. [18:32] We're in the House. [18:33] We're in the House. [18:34] We're in the House. [18:35] We're in the House. [18:37] We're in the House. [18:38] We're in the House. [18:39] We're in the House. [18:40] We're in the House. [18:41] We're in the House. [18:43] We're in the House. [18:44] Control over money. [18:45] Power of the purse and the Congress. [18:46] So we have to take it back to what the oath of office calls for. [18:47] But it's not broken on both sides. [18:49] It's broken on the side of the Republicans. [18:51] As a former Speaker, I wonder what you make of the way that Speaker Johnson has been so [18:55] keen to seemingly farm out power that should be his, that should be Congress's, to the [19:01] White House. [19:02] Well, I'm completely in disagreement with that. [19:06] But it's not just him. [19:08] It's his members as well. [19:09] and it's the president insisting on that. [19:12] And it is, it comes back to politics. [19:15] The president threatens them, [19:17] if you don't go my way, [19:18] then I'll come after you in elections. [19:21] But putting that aside for the moment, [19:23] just what the speaker is doing [19:25] is really a betrayal of the Congress of the United States. [19:30] The Constitution is clear about what our role is, [19:34] and to surrender it to the executive branch, [19:37] even if they were to surrender it to the Senate, [19:41] you would say that's wrong, [19:42] but it's at least within Article One, [19:46] the legislative branch. [19:48] But now we have a situation where we have a speaker [19:52] and a president of the Senate, [19:55] what do they call them over there? [19:56] Leader, majority leader of the Senate. [19:58] Over there in the Senate. [19:59] Over there, that they have done, abdicated too. [20:03] They have abdicated as well on the Senate side. [20:06] So it's not just the House, [20:07] it's the whole Congress has just said to the president, [20:10] as you wish, and not a very nice way. [20:14] So when we win this election, [20:17] that will all revert back to what was intended [20:20] in the Constitution. [20:22] And that's why I'm so proud of No Kings Day. [20:24] 10 million people turning out saying, [20:26] no kings, no kings. [20:29] That's what our founders feared. [20:32] Hakeem talks about Hamilton, [20:36] and Hamilton in the discussion on the Constitution, [20:39] uses the word demagogue probably 15, 16 times, [20:43] because that's what they feared, [20:45] and that's what we have now, a demagogue. [20:47] I wonder as you embark on the last year [20:50] of your time in Congress, [20:52] what do you want your legacy to be? [20:54] Well, my legacy is not what's happening here, [20:57] but what has been, and that has been, [21:00] I think we have a very robust legislative legacy [21:04] of accomplishments, most important among them, [21:09] the Affordable Care Act. [21:10] Presidents for 100 years have tried to pass [21:13] Affordable Care, and unsuccessfully, we did. [21:17] They've tried to undo it, we'll get it back when we win, [21:21] but that is just the source of greatest pride, [21:26] and it wouldn't have happened without the courage [21:29] of members and the outside mobilization [21:31] of people weighing in. [21:34] That's what I love. [21:35] The other, from an administrative standpoint, [21:38] I love the fact that when I went there, [21:40] there were 20,000 people, and I was one of them, [21:40] and I was one of them, and I was one of them, [21:41] 23 women, 12 Democrats, and I said, [21:43] this is ridiculous, as a former Democratic Party Chair [21:47] in California, I knew how to win elections, [21:49] now we have over 95 Democratic women in the House, [21:54] and there's, of course, more in the Senate, [21:56] and that, to me, was a great accomplishment, [21:58] because it's not as to say, as women are better than men, [22:01] but we have to be at the table. [22:05] You have to have diversity at the table, [22:07] and diversity was a theme. [22:09] When I became Speaker, I said to the chair, [22:11] I said to the chairman, it's a new day, [22:14] by dint of opportunity on the committee, [22:18] both members and staff, and I'm not just talking [22:21] about support staff, I'm talking about leading staff, [22:25] so it just changed the nature. [22:26] When I went there, there were like seven or eight members [22:29] of the leadership, now there are about 20, [22:31] because we kept expanding opportunity for people [22:35] to be in the leadership, and have a seat at that table [22:39] to determine how the party would go forward, [22:42] and how the Congress would function. [22:43] As I was listening to the remarks made in the room [22:47] about you remembering other legislative achievements, [22:51] there were some mentions of things that you did [22:52] during the Biden era, as well, and I wonder if you factor in [22:57] the way that Biden's campaign ended, [22:58] when you think about your own legacy. [23:01] I think that many people credit you, or blame you, [23:05] for the way that that campaign ended, [23:07] and I wonder how you think about that, [23:09] now that some time has passed. [23:10] Well, I don't know, how can I say this in a nice, [23:15] nice way, the Biden administration accomplished [23:19] great things, people compared them to LBJ, [23:22] in terms of the amount of, and the quality and quantity [23:26] of accomplishments, we had two years where we got [23:33] great things done, whether it was the rescue package, [23:37] a bipartisan infrastructure bill, CHIPS Act, [23:43] that we didn't mention this morning, [23:44] but the PACT Act for our veterans, [23:48] the IRA, the biggest commitment to saving the planet [23:51] of anything, all those bills were so important, [23:55] but if people don't know, that is a problem, [23:59] and people didn't know enough about that, [24:03] so we lose, we actually won a vote in that election, [24:07] but it wasn't enough to hold the majority. [24:10] Yeah. [24:11] And so, in any event, I think that we would have [24:18] liked the White House to give us more air [24:20] of coverage. [24:21] I think that we would have liked the White House [24:23] to give us more air for a lot of those things. [24:25] I think that, the only thing I asked the President [24:27] to do were two things, I get more credit or blame [24:29] than I deserve, and that is that I wanted him [24:33] to have other posters at the table than just listening [24:37] to one, and B, I wanted him to assure the public [24:40] that he could serve the term. [24:43] They didn't agree with that, and so he then decided [24:47] to step aside, it was his decision. [24:49] Rather than talking about that, I'd rather talk [24:52] about Kamala Harris. [24:56] She was just, it happened so fast. [25:02] She ran a great campaign. [25:04] She turned out so many more people than who would have voted. [25:08] I think she doesn't deserve enough credit for the outcome [25:12] of the election in terms of, we would have lost probably 14 [25:16] seats in that election if she had not been the candidate, [25:21] and that's where we won a seat, not lost a seat, [25:25] that's where we won. [25:26] So I think she deserves credit for making the case [25:30] and bringing it out, but I would say that I don't take any, [25:39] how can I say this, there was a, let me close with this. [25:44] There's a, I talk to people about this all the time. [25:49] Some nuns gave me this prayer. [25:51] It was a prayer that was nailed to the wall [25:55] in a hospital in Africa. [25:57] By a Presbyterian African bishop, and it said, [26:02] when I die and I finally go meet my, happily go meet my maker, [26:07] he will ask me, show me your wounds, and if I had no wounds, [26:14] he'll say, was nothing worth fighting for. [26:17] I'm proud of my wounds, because everything that I did [26:21] was worth fighting for. [26:23] That's how I see it. [26:24] Have you guys spoken? [26:26] Have you and Biden spoken? [26:27] Yes, we have. [26:28] When was the, did he call you when you retired? [26:30] Well, I'd rather, it'd be a long time. [26:33] It's up to him to tell people when we spoke. [26:35] Okay, I saw the tweet. [26:36] I wondered if it was accompanied with a phone call [26:38] or a text or something. [26:40] But I wonder, as we close, if there's a favorite moment [26:44] that you've had throughout your time, [26:46] either as speaker or just as a member of Congress, [26:50] favorite piece of legislation, anything like that. [26:52] Well, so many things compete for that honor, [26:54] but I have to say, bringing Zelensky to the Congress [27:01] right before the Christmas break, [27:03] it's so reminiscent of Churchill coming to the Congress [27:06] after Pearl Harbor in December before, [27:09] he came to the Congress like the day after Christmas. [27:13] Zelensky was there a couple days before [27:15] asking for America to help. [27:19] That, to me, brought so many things together. [27:22] It was about peace, it was about the role of Congress, [27:25] it was about a brave president, brave people [27:30] fighting for democracy. [27:31] So that would be one of them. [27:34] Just one, although we've also heard you [27:35] mention, of course, the work you did under Obama [27:38] for Obamacare and all of the rest. [27:40] That, of course, I said that at the beginning. [27:42] That was the legacy piece, Obamacare. [27:46] I called the president this week, [27:49] because it was the 16th anniversary [27:50] of Obamacare on Monday. [27:52] President Obama, not Trump, I imagine. [27:55] I don't refer to him as the president. [27:57] I don't use his name, and I don't refer to him as president. [28:00] I called President Obama this week, [28:02] and we chatted about how that was. [28:06] And my favorite story. [28:07] My favorite story about that is the night [28:09] that we passed it, he called me. [28:12] President Obama called me and said, [28:16] I'm happier tonight than the night I was elected president. [28:21] And I said, well, I'm pretty happy tonight, too. [28:24] But if you weren't elected president, [28:26] we wouldn't have this night, because it all happened [28:29] because you're president. [28:31] But that was a lovely thing that he said. [28:33] So we reminisced about that this week. [28:36] Speaker Emerita, thank you for sitting down [28:38] and sharing your lesson.