Nancy Pelosi has been serving Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives since last year and is the only woman in the country's history to hold this position. "People will do what they do," she said at a news conference at the Capitol on July 9.
Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young, on the other hand, slammed the protesters who pulled down the statue at Little Italy over the Fourth of July, saying he would not allow the destruction of property. Young deemed the knocking down of the statue as unacceptable, and warned the culprits that they are identified, they will be brought to justice, according to Baltimore Sun.
Pelosi is an Italian American who was born and raised in Baltimore, and her father, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., served the city as its mayor from 1947 to 1959. Her brother Thomas D'Alesandro III was the 43rd mayor of Baltimore from 1967 to 1971.
Pelosi noted that it is the communities that decide what statues they want to see. Referring to the destruction of the Columbus monument, she said her pride in her Italian American heritage isn't diminished by the act. She also asked whether a commission should make the decision in terms of which statues need to go, rather than protesters, who she says will do what they do.
Pushing for a more organized process to remove statues, Pelosi said she thinks that it would be a good idea from a safety standpoint to get rid of the statues if the communities do not want it. While she admitted that she didn't know if that has to be a commission, Pelosi advised that it could be a community view.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy strongly criticized Pelosi's comments, describing it as another example of Democrats trying to defend the radical left-wing mob, Fox News reported. McCarthy said rather than doing her job, which involves writing laws, Pelosi is encouraging the mob to break them.
McCarthy accused Pelosi of being complicit with criminal activity. Pelosi has led an effort to eliminate Confederate statues from the Capitol but has drawn a dividing line between targetting those who committed a crime against the country, and earlier presidents who had enslaved people.
Pelosi explained her focus is on moving forward, adding that she is not obsessed with physical monuments and mementos of the past. She backed her claim by noting that she doesn't even have her grandmother's earrings.