Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi filmed a secret decoy video to throw people off the scent of her imminent retirement plans. Pelosi, 85, released a six-minute video message on Thursday revealing she would not be seeking re-election to Congress at the end of her 20th term in January 2027. Pelosi had filmed two different videos, including one where she announced she was going to run for re-election, in order for the news of her retirement to remain within her inner sanctum. The decision to step down was so top secret that Politico reports some of Pelosi’s closest political allies did not know about her plans until the night before, and others were not informed until five minutes before she posted her retirement video. The publication quotes an adviser who said even some of her family members were not aware of her decision until hours before it was announced to the public. “She was going to make an announcement on her own terms, her own turf,” a Pelosi adviser said. “We kept a very small circle.” Pelosi also updated some key power brokers the evening before releasing her video, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. “We have made history, we have made progress,” Pelosi said in her video message. “We have always led the way, and now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our democracy, and fighting for the American ideals we hold dear.” Pelosi was first elected to Congress in 1987 and made history in 2007 when she became the first woman to serve as House speaker. One person not happy for her was President Donald Trump, who told Fox News on Thursday Pelosi was “evil, corrupt, and only focused on bad things for our country.”
Read it at Politico
