Nancy Pelosi Under Fire for Saying George Floyd ‘Sacrificed’ Himself For Justice
Nancy Pelosi #NancyPelosi
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was criticized on social media Tuesday after she thanked George Floyd for “sacrificing” his life for justice.
Pelosi made the controversial remarks while speaking during a press conference held by the Congressional Black Caucus immediately after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of Floyd’s murder.
“Thank you, George Floyd, for sacrificing your life for justice,” Pelosi said. “For being there to call out to your mom—how heartbreaking was that? Call out for your mom, ‘I can’t breathe.’ But because of you and because of thousands—millions of people around the world who came out for justice, your name will always be synonymous with justice.”
Pelosi was quickly denounced for her remarks, with many users pointing out that Floyd did not voluntarily give up his life for justice.
“Nancy Pelosi saying thank you to George Floyd for ‘sacrificing’ his life,” @drakespositons tweeted. “He didn’t ‘sacrifice’ his life, his life was simply taken. He was murdered.”
“Nancy Pelosi just said ‘Thank you, George Floyd, for sacrificing your life for justice’ and this, in a nutshell, is everything that’s wrong with faux woke liberalism,” conservative talk radio host Dan O’Donnell tweeted.
“My God the ignorance of Pelosi,” @pwebbbbb tweeted. “This is really a good indication of why we need term limits because her old ass is out of her damn mind. ‘Sacrificing himself’… like he had a choice..”
“NO! NO, NO, NO,” tweeted @marginoferror. “What the f***, Pelosi! “Sacrificing your life” is something people have to do on their own. Floyd was murdered. We just had a whole-ass trial!”
“Did Pelosi just say ‘George Floyd, thank u 4 sacrificing your life for justice’?” historian Barbara Ransby tweeted. “He did not SACRIFICE his life. His life was violently taken.”
“Pelosi is out of pocket but she’s also not the only white person who will do this today so this is just a reminder that murder victims don’t ‘sacrifice’ themselves,” playwright Claire Willett tweeted. “George Floyd did not choose what happened to him. He wanted to be alive. He begged for it. He was not a martyr.”
Pelosi’s office later pointed Newsweek to a “clarification tweet” that the speaker issued amid the backlash.
“George Floyd should be alive today,” tweeted Pelosi. “His family’s calls for justice for his murder were heard around the world. He did not die in vain. We must make sure other families don’t suffer the same racism, violence & pain, and we must enact the George Floyd #JusticeInPolicing Act.”
George Floyd’s younger brother Rodney Floyd told MSNBC that Chauvin being found guilty on all counts was “for everyone that’s been in this situation,” adding that “no family in history ever got this far.”
Chauvin is expected to be sentenced by Judge Peter A. Cahill in eight weeks. He faces a combined maximum sentence of up to 75 years behind bars.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) walks down the U.S. Capitol steps to attend a press conference held by members of the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, D.C. on April 20, 2021. Chip Somodevilla/Getty