Nancy Pelosi lectures Democrats and urges against a Twitter civil war amid a feud with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday scolded Democrats for tweeting complaints rather than talking to her face-to-face, which came amid an ongoing spat with freshman lawmaker Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
- "You got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it," Pelosi reportedly said. "But do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that that is just ok."
- Pelosi has butted heads with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the rising progressive star.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday sent a clear, stern message to Democrats when it comes to airing complaints about fellow members of the party: "Do not tweet."
At a closed-door caucus meeting, Pelosi warned that infighting in the party only served to the benefit of the GOP, Politico reported.
"You got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it," Pelosi reportedly said. "But do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that that is just ok."
The Democratic leader, who's been butting heads with younger, progressive members of the caucus in recent months, also defended moderates in the party.
"I'm here to help the children when it's easy and when it's hard. Some of you are here to make a beautiful pâté but we're making sausage most of the time," Pelosi said. "Without that unity, we are playing completely into the hands of the other people."
Read more: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez goes after Nancy Pelosi: 'We won't let everyday people be dismissed'
This came after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went after Pelosi in a tweet on Monday, rejecting the notion she shouldn't publicly go against the House speaker.
"Having respect for ourselves doesn't mean we lack respect for her. It means we won't let everyday people be dismissed," Ocasio-Cortez said.
The freshman Democrat's comments followed tweets from her chief of staff attacking Pelosi over critical remarks she made to The New York Times about Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive-leaning Democrats such as Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley.
"All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world, but they didn't have any following. They're four people and that's how many votes they got," Pelosi said.
When asked about Pelosi's remarks, Ocasio-Cortez told the Associated Press, "It was just kind of puzzling more than anything. It's just, why? The idea that millions of people we represent matter less or don't matter is a notion I disagree with."