House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said misogyny in the Democratic Party played a part in how the 2020 Democratic presidential primary has played out.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren dropped out of the race on Thursday, leaving Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as the only woman still in the race, though she has only earned a single delegate and trails far behind former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
“I so wish that we had a woman president of the United States,” Pelosi said, reacting to Warren’s exit in a Thursday press conference. “I think the American people are ready for it. [But] it’s a competition. You run and make your pitch, and people respond to it.”
“I do think there is a certain element of misogyny that is there,” Pelosi said, explaining why the two leading candidates in the Democratic primary are men. “Some of it isn’t really mean-spirited. It just isn’t their experience. Many of them will tell you they had a strong mom, they have strong sisters, they have strong daughters, but they have their own insecurities, I guess you would say.”
Warren exited the race after a poor performance on Super Tuesday that included a stinging loss in Massachusetts, her home state. She received just 21% of the vote, behind Biden at 34% and Sanders at 27%.
