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Is Nancy Pelosi an alcoholic? TRUTH behind Madison Cawthorn's 'very sad' claims

The GOP Rep claims that Pelosi 'has a drinking problem' amidst the ongoing controversy over his comments on Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Things aren't looking too good for Rep. Madison Cawthorn in March 2022. Days after he was caught calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "a thug", the Rep. dubbed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi an alcoholic. He may have gotten some chuckles from the attendees of the event where he made those comments, but online he was widely criticized for his words. Yet again, Cawthorn finds himself being slammed by social media for his words.

No stranger to controversy, the embattled representative once called the Vatican City's vaccine mandate illegal and in February 2021 was embroiled in a sexual abuse scandal. Yet, like many of his party colleagues, he's only doubled down on false claims and accusations, despite widespread public anger and trolling. His latest attack at Pelosi appears to be part of an ongoing GOP effort, based on doctored videos shared in the past.

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In May 2019, one such video surfaced showing Pelosi slurring her words during a speech at the Center for American Progress. While many claimed it proved she was drunk, experts noted that the video was slowed down by as much as 75% to give that effect. It begs the question - is Pelosi really an alcoholic? Or is the claim just another invention of the GOP? Luckily, we have a pretty definitive answer from someone very close to the Speaker. 

Is Nancy Pelosi an alcoholic?

When the May 2019 video surfaced, Pelosi's daughter Christine Pelosi took to Twitter to say, "Republicans and their conservative allies have been pumping this despicable fake meme for years! Now they are caught. #FactCheck: Madam Speaker doesn’t even drink alcohol!" It's the only time Christine has weighed in on the controversy, but should sufficiently put the debate to rest. 

For her part, the Speaker has never really addressed the claims and fake videos. At the time of the May 2019 scandal, Pelosi's spokesperson said, "We're not going to comment on this sexist trash." Beyond that, she's never addressed the claims, even though they have occasionally resurfaced since. One of those times was March 12, when Cawthorn was speaking to supporters. 

It's not clear where the comments were made, or what the entire context was, but the video uploaded by Patriot Takes shows Cawthorn clearly calling out the Speaker as an alcoholic. "I'll tell you I have to work with her every single day so please do pray for me. The theories of alcoholism are very true and it's very sad," he says as some attendees laugh. On March 14, Patriot Takes retweeted that video and asked "Has Madison Cawthorn apologized to Nancy Pelosi for slandering her yet?" 

'More likely he will double down on stupid'

While the speaker may have found Cawthorn's comments irrelevant and not worth her time, many users on social media took it upon themselves to defend her. "Has Speaker Pelosi commented on this slander? I haven't heard that she has, but I imagine if she did it would sound something like, "Who? Oh. I have vital things to attend to. It's McCarthy's job to keep his children in line." Her comment would be more elegant," one user commented. Another mocked, "Apologizing to a Democrat would disqualify him from membership in his caucus." A third replied, "Doubtful. More likely he will double down on stupid."

"She should him for everything he's not worth," one user commented. Another tweeted, "The GOP wouldn't know an apology if it slapped them upside the head." A third replied, "Goddamn these guys are despicable."