Speaker Emerita Pelosi Participates in Debate, Moderated Conversation and Delivers Remarks at University of Oxford

Oxford, United Kingdom - Yesterday, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi delivered the distinguished Benazir Bhutto Memorial Lecture at the Oxford Union and participated in an Oxford Union debate, taking the proposition side of the topic: "This house believes that populism is a threat to democracy." Speaker Emerita Pelosi also participated in moderated conversations at the Oxford Guild and at the Blavatnik School of Government.

Read coverage of the events below:

The Oxford Student: Nancy Pelosi speaks at Keble College(link is external)
[Gabriella Kchozyan and Olly DeHerrera, 4/26/24]

On the 25th of April, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi addressed an audience of students at the O'Reilly Theatre at Keble College, organised by OxfordSpeaks.

Pelosi served as the 52nd Speaker of the US House of Representatives between 2007-2011 and 2019-2023. She is the only woman to have held this position and currently represents California's 11th congressional district.

The event was hosted by OxfordSpeaks in collaboration with the Oxford Diplomatic Society and the Oxford International Relations Society. In attendance was also Pelosi's husband, Paul.

Opening her talk, Pelosi addressed the room saying: "I see the future [in] the beautiful diversity of attendees", and stated she was here to "hear Oxford speak".

During the audience Q&A, attendees questioned Pelosi about a number of topics, including the January 6 US Capitol Attack, Israel-Gaza war, and the future of democracy.

January 6 US Capitol Attack

During her time as Speaker, Pelosi was a vocal critic of former US President Donald Trump and his supporters within the Republican party. In February 2020, she made headlines when she publicly tore up a copy of the then-President's speech during a State of the Union Address, calling it a 'manifesto of mistruths'.

She continued to express this sentiment today in Oxford when she argued that opposing Trump's potential re-election was a matter of "absolute total urgency" and a "life and death risk to civilization".

When asked if the Capitol insurgence of January 6th was a predictable reaction to the 2020 Republican defeat, Pelosi stated "nobody could ever foresee [the] violence incited by the US President". However, she described the actions by the sect of Republican supporters as "not uncharacteristic of their assault on the values of our country".

Pelosi made reference to the presence of Far-Right political actors at the January 6th riots, stating: "We don't like to see Nazi and Confederate flags under the Dome that Lincoln built".

She argued Trump was "not unlike other Authoracrats in Europe's history", referencing his campaigns of "fake news" in attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the 2020 elections.

When asked about the possibility of Trump's re-election, Pelosi insisted "he's not going to be President. It's not going to happen!".

Israel-Gaza war

The topic of the United State's diplomatic relationship with Israel underpinned much of Pelosi's visit to Oxford.

These tensions continued to her later address at the Oxford Union, where students demonstrated both outside and inside the Union.

One student asked about crackdowns on university protests against Israel's war in Gaza, as well as continued US support for Israel. Pelosi noted she did not object against student demonstrations on campuses but did object to the antisemitism she alleged was present in some of them.

"It has to stop. It has to end," she said, referring to the continued violence.

Pelosi is a proponent of a two-state solution and openly criticised Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu. She does not see the path to peace as an option under his leadership, she added.

Following the World Central Kitchen (WCK) drone strikes in April 2024, Pelosi, among other Congressional Democrats, signed an open letter urging a halt of military aid to Israel until the incident was fully investigated. The WCK is an American non-profit food relief organisation. She cited her involvement in the letter and expressed her thoughts on the ways in which Israel has responded to Hamas.

"The manner in which it has been done, with tens of thousands of people killed, and on top of that, hunger, malnutrition, dehydration, but also getting up to the fifth level of all of this - famine. Famine is sinful," she said.

She called the 7 October attacks "barbaric" and stated her belief that Israel has a right to defend itself but criticised Netenyahu's military response as "the worst possible".

Apart from criticising Netanyahu, Pelosi reiterated US support for Israel. She stated it was in "US national security interest" since "Israel is the only democracy in the region".

Future of Democracy

When asked to discuss the future of American democracy, Pelosi expressed her firm belief that American politics should be built upon "consensus" and "respect for others opinions".

She discussed many of the Democratic Party's achievements during her 16-year tenure as Speaker of the House but insisted she could only accept praise "on behalf of her House of Democrat members". She praised their "courage" in electing her as the first female Speaker of the House.

Pelosi reaffirmed her support for US President Joe Biden, noting his presidency was "comparable to Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson for working families".

To make democracies more solid, she stated a need to increase voter confidence, in addition to other factors such as maintaining a free and fair press to report on politicians and uphold accountability. She referred to the presence of "big dark money suffocating the airways with misinformation" within discussions on the topic of climate change.

With UK local elections around the corner, one student asked Pelosi on her views of Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer. Pelosi praised his "impressive background" and said he "looks like a person ready for success".

Pelosi concluded the talk by stating she was "honoured to hear [Oxford's] views"

On Thursday night, the Oxford Union voted in favour of the motion "This House Believes that Populism is a Threat to Democracy." The final count had 177 members voting for the motion and 68 members voting against.

Speaking in favour of the motion were Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker of the House, and Oli Dugmore, editor of PoliticsJOE. Secretary Rachel Haddad of Balliol College also spoke in favour of the motion.

British musician, podcaster and former lead guitarist of Mumford & Sons, Winston Marshall, as well as Union committee members Sultan Kokhar (Chair of Consultative Committee) and Oscar Whittle (Director of Research) spoke against the motion.

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi was last to speak for the proposition and - following a long day of engagements - she began her speech by accusing modern populism of upholding "Ethno-nationalism".

She contrasted this with the populism of 200 years ago under Andrew Jackson, who is known as the founding father of populism. Her main case revolved around the fact that political arguments of 200 years ago shouldn't necessarily be upheld as ones we use today. Eight points of information were raised during Pelosi's speech - none of which were entertained by the ex-Speaker of the House. Her closing remarks took issue with one of the points repeatedly raised by the opposition: that a rejection of populism questions ordinary voters' knowledge of their own interests. She argued that populism on the ground in its current form (emphasis added by Cherwell) is a threat to democracy.

Winston Marshall spoke last and closed the debate for the opposition. He began his speech with the remark that when he was younger "the word 'woman' meant someone who doesn't have a cock". The most notable aspect of his speech was his back and forth with Pelosi, who took issue with his argument equating the January 6th Capitol riots with progressives' 2020 attack on the federal courthouse in Oregon. Later in his speech he attacked Pelosi's claim that the 2016 presidential election had been hijacked, to which she plainly responded: "it was".

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