House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) berated reporters during a press conference on Tuesday for not doing a better job of selling the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill.
Pelosi’s remarks came in response to a reporter telling her that a new poll found that only 10% of Americans knew a lot about what was in the bill and that the majority do not know about anything in it.
“So, do you think you need to do a better job at messaging?” the reporter asked. “And going forward, how do you sell this if ultimately–”
“Well, I think you all could do a better job of selling it, to be very frank with you, because every time I come here, I go through the list, family medical leave, climate, the issues that are in there, but it is true, it is hard to break through when you have such a comprehensive package,” Pelosi fired back. “But as we narrow it down and put it out there, I think that it will and for example, one of the things in the bill is the continuation of the Biden tax credit. That is child tax credit that is in the rescue package that has great appeal. Do people know where it springs from? No, but it is a vast bill. It has a lot in it. And we will have to continue to make sure the public does, but whether they know it or not, they overwhelmingly support it. And by the way, women much more than men.”
WATCH:
Responding to CBS News poll showing most Americans don't know specifics of Democrats' spending bill, Pelosi tells @NikolenDC "it is hard to break through when you have such a comprehensive package"
"Whether they know it or not, they overwhelmingly support it," she says pic.twitter.com/G0wQLFR6Ju
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 12, 2021
TRANSCRIPT:
REPORTER: Our latest CBS News poll shows that only about 10% of Americans describe themselves as knowing a lot of specific things that are in the reconciliation package and that the majority don’t know anything at all. So, do you think you need to do a better job at messaging? And going forward, how do you sell this if ultimately–
NANCY PELOSI, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, I think you all could do a better job of selling it, to be very frank with you, because every time I come here, I go through the list, family medical leave, climate, the issues that are in there, but it is true, it is hard to break through when you have such a comprehensive package. But as we narrow it down and put it out there, I think that it will and for example, one of the things in the bill is the continuation of the Biden tax credit. That is child tax credit that is in the rescue package that has great appeal. Do people know where it springs from? No, but it is a vast bill. It has a lot in it. And we will have to continue to make sure the public does, but whether they know it or not, they overwhelmingly support it. And by the way, women much more than men.