During heated exchange, Nancy Pelosi tells CNN's Wolf Blitzer he's 'an apologist' for the GOP

During a contentious interview on Tuesday afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) repeatedly told CNN's Wolf Blitzer he had "no idea" what he was talking about regarding negotiations for a coronavirus relief bill, and he is an "apologist" for the Republican Party.

Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been trying to work out a stimulus bill, with the White House's latest offer of a $1.8 trillion package delivered last week. On Oct. 1, the House approved a $2.2 trillion package, down from the $3.4 trillion bill approved in May. Blitzer asked Pelosi why, when there are people who can't pay their rent and need to go to food banks, she won't accept the $1.8 trillion offer.

"I hope you'll ask the same questions about Republicans, why they don't want to meet the needs of the American people," Pelosi responded. She said that when it comes to her constituents, "I know what their needs are. I listen to them, and their needs are not addressed in the president's proposal. So when you say to me, why don't you accept theirs, why don't they accept ours?"

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Blitzer pushed back, saying some members of her caucus, like Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), want her to take the offer so the ball goes into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) court. "What do you say to Ro Khanna?" Blitzer asked. "What I say to you is, I don't know why you're always an apologist, and many of your colleagues apologists, for the Republican position," Pelosi shot back. "Ro Khanna, that's nice. That isn't what we're going to do." She asked Blitzer if he had "any idea what the difference is between the spending that they have in their bill and that we have in our bill? Do you realize that they have come back and said all these things for child tax credits and earned income tax credits, helping people who have lost their jobs, are eliminated in their bill."

People not involved in the negotiations "have no idea" what they are talking about, Pelosi continued, and she is "confident" in her negotiations and her caucus "overwhelmingly" wants her to keep fighting. Watch the heated interview below. Catherine Garcia