Pelosi panned for saying banning Trump from ballot over Jan. 6 depends on 'different laws from state to state'

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was panned on social media Monday for saying that banning former President Trump from the 2024 ballot depended on "different laws from state to state." 

During an appearance on ABC's "This Week" Sunday, host George Stephanopoulos asked Pelosi, "If you believe he engaged in insurrection into the plain meaning of the 14th Amendment, you believe he's ineligible to be president?" 

"Those laws… that are up to the states. They have different laws from state to state. I don't think he should ever have been president," Pelosi said. 

Interjecting, Stephanopoulos corrected, "It's the Constitution."

"But nonetheless," Pelosi continued. "There is a view of the Constitution and Article 14, section three, that he should not be able to run for president. But that's not the point. The point now is that, again, different states have different laws. We don't think in California that it – it applied in our state. That's what the decision was made here. But anyway, not to go into that because that's very intricate. What is very clear is that the American people want us to honor our oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

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Rep. Nancy Pelosi arrives at the U.S. Capitol for the last votes of the year on Dec. 14, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The exchange was highlighted on X by the RNC Research account and amplified by various conservative users.

"Nancy Pelosi told [Stephanopoulos] today that states can overrule the Constitution and take Trump off of the ballot. Tell me again which party is trying to destroy democracy?" another user, known as Insurrection Barbie, wrote to her 127,000 X followers, reacting to the ABC interview. 

The Constitutional Conservative wrote on X, "Nancy Pelosi said that states can ignore the constitution because they have different laws. George Stephanopoulos was dumbfounded & brought up the constitution & Pelosi shrugged it off. These are the types of dangerous people running our government." 

"@SpeakerPelosi doesn't care what the constitution says. It's time for the American people to wake the f--- up!" the account added. 

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber decided in late December to include Trump on the list of candidates certified to run in the March primary, committing "to abide by the rule of law" despite telling the Los Angeles Times she personally feels Trump’s actions "to be abhorrent and disturbing and an attack on democracy." 

Former President Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Mason City, Iowa, on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider whether Colorado can bar Trump from the presidential ballot. (KC McGinnis/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Weber's decision came after Maine’s Democratic secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, ruled that Trump was ineligible to appear on that state’s ballot over his role in the Capitol riot, and Colorado's Supreme Court decided, by a 4-3 vote, that Trump should not be on the Republican primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment's "insurrection" clause. 

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The U.S. Supreme Court said last week it will take up Trump’s appeal in the Colorado case in February.

In the interview held the day after the three-year anniversary of the Capitol riot, Pelosi also warned about Jan. 6 messaging during a "campaign year."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco, on Dec. 15, 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"We have people who don't want to believe the truth for whatever attitudes they have otherwise. But again, during this period, this campaign year, it behooves us to speak with respect for all concerned in a unifying way to bring people together," Pelosi said. "He is not above the law. And it remains for the case, the courts to settle that. That's not up to us. It's up to the courts to settle that." 

Pelosi's X account also shared another clip from the ABC interview, blaming Trump for allegedly delaying sending National Guard troops to the Capitol. She said, "Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell and I were begging the administration to send the National Guard," yet it still "took hours." However, Trump has repeatedly said Pelosi is responsible for the Jan. 6 riot, claiming the then-House speaker and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser denied Trump's approval of 10,000 National Guard members at the Capitol beforehand. 

"The former president incited insurrection on January 6th with a violent mob that desecrated the Capitol, some wielding Confederate flags under the dome that Lincoln built – and the evidence against him comes from his fellow Republicans," Pelosi wrote Sunday. "Democrats will protect and defend our democracy and our Constitution, with liberty and justice for all." 

Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @danimwallace.