Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates not to lurch too far to the left because whoever the nominee is will still need to win a general election.
Pelosi, 79, expressed concern that a nominee who is too far to the left might not be able to beat President Trump come next November.
“What works in San Francisco does not necessarily work in Michigan,” Pelosi told Bloomberg News on Friday. “What works in Michigan works in San Francisco — talking about workers’ rights and sharing prosperity.”
“Remember November,” she added. “You must win the Electoral College.”
Without naming specific candidates, Pelosi rebuked the two progressive front-runners in Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders for their stances on healthcare as well as the Green New Deal.
Warren and Sanders both back a government-financed “Medicare for all” system that would forcibly remove people from their current plans even if they are happy with the coverage they are receiving. Warren released a long-awaited “Medicare for all” funding plan on Friday after coming under pressure by other candidates about how to fund the overhaul without middle-class tax increases.
“Protect the Affordable Care Act — I think that’s the path to healthcare for all Americans. Medicare For All has its complications,” Pelosi said, adding that “the Affordable Care Act is a better benefit than Medicare.”
Her concern with the Green New Deal, which many of the presidential candidates have backed, is that there is “very strong opposition on the labor side to the Green New Deal because it’s like 10 years, no more fossil fuel. Really?”
