Pelosi: ‘We Had an Open Primary and She [Kamala Harris] Won It’

GOBA: “You have reportedly said you wanted a sort of an open primary when — if Joe Biden stepped down. Did you change your mind because you saw all the excitement around Kamala Harris?”
Pelosi: “No, I didn’t change my mind. We had an open primary and she won it. Nobody else got in the race because she was politically astute and —
(Applause)
But that was the thought, let’s show our talent. We have a great bench, all these great people in the country, and she could — she just — the president endorsed her, and that’s a big deal, because Joe Biden is most consequential president of modern times. He accomplished so much more — I mean, even Barack Obama in his 8 years in service would admit that in the short period of time that Joe Biden had the majority, which was two years of his four-year term. But it’s not just about legislating, which we share that success, that legacy of what we did, but it’s also about executing that executive Branch, how you get things done and how he translated the legislation into delivery of infrastructure, CHIPS Act, you name it, IRA in terms of saving the planet and reducing the cost of prescription drugs from $600 or $500, depending, for insulin a month for seniors to $35 a month. I mean, I could name many things. I’ve said about the 15 million jobs earlier. So, he’s very consequential, highly respected, and was to be our nominee. And then he, because he knows the job of vice president, appointed her vice president years ago, 3 ½ years ago, and because he knows the job of president, endorsed her for president. And so that — yes, people could have jumped in. There were some people who were sort of preparing, but she just took off with it. And actually, it was a blessing because there isn’t that much time. There wasn’t that much time between then and the election and it sort of saved time. So it wasn’t that we didn’t have an open process. It’s just that nobody got in because she had a running start.”