Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi erupted during a CNN interview when host Jake Tapper confronted her about President Donald Trump’s allegations of insider trading. The heated exchange occurred during Pelosi’s appearance on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” where she had intended to discuss the 60th anniversary of Medicaid.
The confrontation began when Tapper attempted to show Trump’s comments from earlier that day, in which the president accused Pelosi of becoming wealthy through insider information in stock trading. Due to technical difficulties, Tapper had to read the comments aloud instead of playing the video.
Pelosi immediately interrupted the CNN host, asking sharply: “Why do you have to read that?” She emphasized that she had agreed to appear on the program specifically to discuss Medicaid’s anniversary, not to address trading allegations.
Despite Pelosi’s objections, Tapper persisted, explaining that he wanted to give her an opportunity to respond to Trump’s accusations of insider trading. The former Speaker dismissed the allegations as ridiculous and stated her support for stopping congressional stock trading altogether. She clarified that while she does not believe anyone is engaging in wrongdoing, such legislation would help instill confidence in the American people.
Pelosi defended her family’s investment activity, noting that she does not personally engage in stock trading but her husband does. She emphasized that Paul Pelosi’s investments have nothing to do with insider information. The former speaker then turned the focus back on Trump, suggesting that the president has his own exposure to such allegations and is projecting onto others.
The exchange occurred against the backdrop of legislative action in the Senate regarding congressional stock trading. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri has introduced legislation that would ban members of Congress, as well as presidents and vice presidents, from trading individual stocks while in office.
Hawley’s bill, initially dubbed the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act with the obvious acronym PELOSI, advanced through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday. The legislation passed with an 8-7 vote, with Democrats supporting the measure and Republicans opposing it, except for Hawley himself.
As part of negotiations with Democrats to secure passage, Hawley agreed to rename the legislation the Honest Act. The revised version expanded the trading ban to include presidents and vice presidents, though this provision would be grandfathered in and would not apply to Trump or Vice President JD Vance during the current administration.
Trump’s position on the legislation appeared to shift throughout the day. Initially, he told reporters that he conceptually supported the bill before making his comments about Pelosi. However, later, Trump posted on Truth Social, criticizing Hawley for advancing legislation that he claimed benefited Pelosi and her husband while being detrimental to the country.
The Pelosi family’s stock trading activities have drawn scrutiny over the years. Paul Pelosi, a venture capitalist with an estimated net worth of $262 million according to Quiver Quantitative, has made several well-timed trades that have raised eyebrows among critics. In 2022, he traded between $1 million and $5 million in semiconductor stocks just days before Congress voted on a $52 million subsidy to the industry.
More recently, Paul Pelosi made $38 million worth of stock trades in the weeks before Trump’s inauguration in January. As required by law, Nancy Pelosi must disclose her husband’s trading activities, though her communications director has stated that she owns no stocks and has no knowledge or involvement in any transactions.
During the CNN interview, Pelosi also addressed Trump’s past comments mocking the 2022 hammer attack against her husband at their San Francisco home. The attack left Paul Pelosi with a fractured skull after an intruder broke into their residence. Pelosi expressed pride in her family while criticizing Trump for making light of the violent incident during campaign events.
The controversy over congressional stock trading has led to the creation of exchange-traded funds that track lawmakers’ portfolios. The Unusual Whales Subversive Democratic Trading ETF, with the ticker symbol NANC in reference to Pelosi, invests in securities bought or sold by Democratic members of Congress and their spouses. A similar fund with the ticker GOP follows Republican trading activities.
Despite the heated exchange, Pelosi has publicly supported Hawley’s legislation in principle. In a statement, she emphasized the importance of strong transparency, robust accountability, and tough enforcement for financial conduct in office to ensure that elected leaders serve the public interest rather than their personal portfolios.