Nancy Pelosi’s ice cream freezer stunt slammed as 'unforced error' by progressive groups in election postmortem
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was slammed this week by progressive groups conducting a postmortem on the 2020 elections for "showing off" her freezer full of ice cream. The groups reportedly said that the gesture was an "unforced error" that led to the erosion of Democrats' majority in the House. A letter, penned by the groups on Wednesday, November 11, read: "The economy was voters’ top concern in this election."
"When Democratic leaders make unforced errors like showing off two sub-zero freezers full of ice cream on national television or cozy up with Wall Street executives and corporate lobbyists while Trump tells voters we are the party of the swamp, it is not surprising that we lose,” the letter, collectively written by New Deal Strategies, Justice Democrats, Sunrise Movement and Data for Progress stated. The letter was referring to Pelosi's infamous exchange during an interview with James Corden in the middle of the pandemic this year where the House Speaker showed off her $24,000 Sub-Zero freezers stuffed with $13 ice creams.
The progressive groups denounced the Democratic leadership, accusing it of being out of touch, and predicted that Republicans would gain control over the House of Representatives in 2022 if things didn't change. "Democratic leadership has failed over the years to make sustained investments in field organizing, forcing grassroots organizations to carry the bulk of organizing work in key battleground states on their own," the letter read. The progressives credited grassroots work by Latino organizers and Black activists that resulted in President-elect Joe Biden winning the state of Arizona and saw significant Democrat strides in Georgia.
"In Georgia, after being told it could never become a swing state, it was progressive Black-led organizations like Black Voters Matter, New Georgia Project and Fair Fight Action who registered over 800,000 new voters, almost 50% of them under 30 and people of color since 2018 to prepare for this moment,” the letter continued.
As Democrat lawmakers ponder over whether progressive agenda, championed by young Congresswomen like Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is assisting or harming the party's cause, the progressive groups wrote that it was similar leftist lawmakers like Rep Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) who played a key role in defeating President Donald Trump this election.
"While the Biden-Harris campaign resisted in-person canvassing, Omar’s campaign kept doing it, hiring dozens of people to knock on doors and pull out votes,” the letter read. "Trump and the GOP really thought they could win Minnesota — what they didn’t count on was 88% turnout in Ilhan’s district with over 400,000 votes."
The letter comes amid reports of an in-party resistance building against the leadership of House Speaker Pelosi as moderate House Democrats and other centrists are privately discussing a plan to throw their support behind a challenger to the Speaker. The unprecedented move has come amidst the party's disappointing showing at the polls regarding the chamber on Tuesday, November 3. Two moderate House Democrats, while talking to The Hill, on Wednesday, November 4, said that they were reaching out to their colleagues about supporting one of Pelosi’s top lieutenants, Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), for Speaker. The Democratic lawmakers, who were not identified, said: "He’s the only one prepared and positioned” to be Speaker. "He bridges moderates and progressives better than anyone. And most importantly, he’s not Nancy Pelosi," they said referring to Jeffries.