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MSNBC, CNN Anchors Gush Over Nancy Pelosi After Oval Office Meeting

December 12, 2018

MSNBC and CNN anchors were effusive in their praise of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) following the televised meeting she and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) had in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump about border security, calling her a "boss" and one of the "greatest politicians of all time."

Pelosi, Schumer and Trump argued with cameras rolling Tuesday over funding for Trump's long-promised southern border wall, with Pelosi drawing praise for challenging Trump to whip the votes for the wall in the Republican House—until Democrats take over next month—and later declaring the wall was tied to Trump's "manhood," or lack thereof. Trump also said during the meeting he would gladly shut down the government and take full responsibility for it if he didn't get the wall built.

MSNBC's Ali Velshi, a daytime host who occasionally fills in for the network's primetime pundits, said on "All In" that Pelosi showed House Democrats preparing to elect their next speaker of the House that she was the right pick.

"Today, Nancy Pelosi acquitted herself in a way that should put to rest any argument about whether she's up to that task," he said, alongside a chyron reading "Like a Boss" and a picture of Pelosi smiling in a pair of sunglasses.

Velshi didn't stop there, leading a segment with former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.) and Fordham professor Christina Greer that continued to bathe Pelosi with praise.

"There are still people who doubt her moxie," Velshi said. "Most people should have been over that in about, I don't know, 2003?"

He later called her "one of the greatest vote-counters and politicians of all time."

CNN anchors Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon chuckled together about "NanChuck" taking on Trump over the wall. Lemon said he watched the dramatic conversation play out before and said, "Just objectively speaking, I was like, 'Oh my gosh. Nancy Pelosi is a boss.' She handed herself amazingly."

"They were wearing smiles and a bunch of new power," Cuomo said on his program of Pelosi and Schumer.

On "Morning Joe," MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski said the minority leader showed her "value," in a nod to Brzezinski's books and speeches about empowered women in the workplace. Fellow anchor and reporter Kasie Hunt said Pelosi engaged in a "complete masterful smackdown."

Pelosi also received applause after Trump said in the meeting that it might be difficult for her to negotiate and she responded by noting House Democratic victories last month.

"It actually appeared quite easy for her to talk," MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle cooed. "And if it was hard, she didn't make it seem that way."