Transcript of Pelosi Interview on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss tonight's State of the Union Address and other news of the day. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Andrea Mitchell.Joining us now: the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi – will be sitting behind the President, of course, as he speaks to Congress tonight. Madam Speaker, thank you very much.

I want to talk about our domestic issues, but first, of course, overwhelming everybody right now is watching this – the horror unwinding in Ukraine, the valor of these courageous people.

We understand that President Zelensky – the White House is confirming – spoke to President Biden today for 30 minutes. And President Zelensky has said he wants a strong speech on Ukraine tonight. What do you want to hear the President say to Vladimir Putin and the world tonight?

Speaker Pelosi. Well, thank you, Andrea. It's wonderful, always, to be with you.

A little over a week ago, a bipartisan group of Members of Congress, House and Senate, were at the Munich Security Conference. At that time, we were, again, united as we are now in our support for NATO, for the European Union and their efforts to secure Europe and to support the people of the Ukraine. This is – this is remarkable.

The attack on Ukraine is an attack on democracy. We all know that. The bullying efforts of President Putin are efforts –because he is afraid of the democracy at his doorstep, which Ukraine proposes to the Russian people. So for him to use this overwhelming strength of the Russian military to go into a country because they are democratic, expecting them to welcome him, is just something that doesn't make any sense.

We all salute and pray for the people of Ukraine, and, again, we are united in our respect and work and cooperation with the European Union and the – NATO as well as the G7.

Tonight, I hope the President will give a message of confidence to the people of Ukraine that we are there for them. We are there with military assistance. We are there with humanitarian assistance. We are there with loan guarantees for their economy. We are there with very severe sanctions to punish Putin and his economy and his – I don't know what you would call them – just his compatriots in his conspiracy against democracy in the world.

We expect the President also to be talking about something significant in our further support for Ukraine.

Andrea Mitchell. Madam Speaker, I see you're wearing the American and Ukrainian flags on your lapel. And when you were in Munich, I'm sure you, as I, watched his speech. The courage of this man in rallying his country against overwhelming odds, including the fact that it has now been reported – and we have not confirmed this yet – but have you heard anything to confirm that they've actually used a vacuum or a thermobaric bomb against civilian populations, which would be a war crime?

Speaker Pelosi. Again, when we were in Munich – and in a bipartisan, bicameral way – we heard President Zelensky. He came there and made his appeal for help. He challenged the Western security infrastructure – whether it's EU, NATO or the United Nations – to say we're all here for peace. But that's not what's happening in our country. To see his courage now, to stay there with the threat of Russia coming in and attacking civilian sites, it's just – it is a war crime.

Unfortunately for us – I mean not for us, for the situation – we cannot go in militarily. We can help in every possible way that we can with assistance, whether it's lethal, nonlethal, humanitarian, economic and in every way. But to be drawn into a conflict, with Biden – President Biden being such a unifier in all of this, and President Putin being a taunter for World War III, it just can't happen.

But to see the courage of Zelensky – and not only that, to see the former president. They're not of the same party. But to see the former president on the ground there, helping to lead the people of Ukraine, is a remarkable thing to see. And just determination of the people.

So we are at a situation in our lives, all of us who have observed war and peace over time and know history, to see that this is highly unacceptable to civilized human behavior, for Putin to go in there and attack civilian sites, to make up stories about them. Something must be wrong there, and you would hope that there would be some in Russia who would be a check on him.

Fortunately, some of the news is getting through to Russian people, and you see protesters and demonstrations in Russia against the use of force. But again, they have a closed system, so not everybody knows just yet.

Andrea Mitchell. I want to move on to the State of the Union, but let me just ask you: you said something is off there, something's wrong there.

Speaker Pelosi. Yeah.

Andrea Mitchell.Something's wrong with Vladimir Putin? He's been so isolated; he doesn't get advice or take advice from anyone. What do you think is going on there?

Speaker Pelosi. I don't know what is the matter there. I've talked to heads of state who have met with him, and they just take it face value. The evil he is putting forth is something we have to deal with. They're not making a diagnosis of his health. Some say he has cancer and some people say brain fog from COVID. Other people just think he's a complete raging bully. But whatever it is, the people of Ukraine are paying the price for it. And unfortunately, the people of Russia are going to pay a price for it in economic terms, with the very strictest of sanctions.

I want to commend President Biden for the sequencing of events that he has put forth, for how he has worked in a unified way with our allies on all of this. Because no matter what happens, whatever Putin may define as a success for him, it is a Pyrrhic victory – because in the long term, Russia will suffer, and Putin will fail.

Andrea Mitchell. Now, the polls show Americans deeply pessimistic about the economy. Inflation is only going to rise with what's happening on the energy front with this war. What do you attribute to that? What – the decline in the President's polls, even on COVID, on how he's handled it, what can he do to turn this around?

Speaker Pelosi. Well, I think tonight's going to be very important – because, for people to appreciate what the President has done, and working together with the Congress, they have to know what it is. President Lincoln said, ‘Public sentiment is everything. With it, you can accomplish almost everything. Without it, practically nothing.'

But people have to know for public sentiment to – and so, of course, we're proud that the President has, under his term – 6.6 million new jobs were created. Of course, the private sector has a role in that. The unemployment rate has come down from 6.9 [percent] to just under 4 percent. The issues that relate to the well-being of the American people are being well-served.

But people still are suffering. They have kitchen table concerns, and that's where their reaction springs from. I hope tonight that, in order – in addition to spreading the word about what good things – and why we should be hopeful, you'll hear an empathetic speech about why we're concerned that this has not all reached all of America's families. The kitchen table concerns about paying the bills – whether it's food, rent, credit card bills, the education of their children, their retirement, whatever it is – the same kinds of issues that keep people up at night and affect their opinion as to what the state of the nation is.

But there's no one more emphatic than Joe Biden. There's no one who cares more. We are so blessed that he's President at this time, because we do have to build America better. And that's what he is doing – and doing so in a way that, again, grows the prosperity in our country with many more people participating in it. Builds the infrastructure of our country while preserving and protecting our planet. By doing so with equity and fairness in our system. And he has a vision for America that is a big one.

It's not all complete, and the message that people have to hear is that he is here for them. Here's what he's done. Here's what he intends to do. And we're not finished until the American people feel the comfort level they need to feel in our economy.

So I'm really very, very proud of him. Again, on the global scene, from the security – global security standpoint, at home, economic security for our families. Our values are well-served, and tonight will be a great speech. I'm really looking forward to it.

And I think it will be pivotal in terms of COVID as well, which has had a direct impact on the attitudes and rates that people give to governance, because COVID still has its remnants. But I think tonight will be pivotal in terms of our values, his vision, his plan, his knowledge and his connection to the American people.

Andrea Mitchell. Now, I know you've got to run, but let me quickly ask you about that because the CDC mask guidance was changed last week. Today, D.C. officially nixed its indoor mask guidance. Are you going to be wearing a mask tonight?

Speaker Pelosi. No, I'm not going to be wearing a mask tonight. If I had little children or if I were around little grandchildren, I would because some of them would not be vaccinated. Or if I were around a person or were a person with a pre – some kind of a condition that would make me susceptible to it. So I think people have to use their judgment about it. But I do think that if people make their own judgment – I'm making my own judgment, that I won't be wearing a mask tonight.

Andrea Mitchell. Well, we'll all be watching, and thank you so much for your patience today.

Speaker Pelosi. Thank you, and thank you for your focus on Ukraine, on democracy and on the well-being of the American people. Always wonderful to be with you. Thank you.

Andrea Mitchell. Thank you. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.