(CNSNews.com) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) said on MSNBC’s “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell” on Wednesday that she always prays for President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
“Well, I always pray for our president and vice president and their families, for their safety, for our country,” Pelosi said.
She made the remark after host Lawrence O’Donnell noted that Vice President Pence ate a meal with the governor of Florida while not wearing a mask and that “Donald Trump obviously does not wear a mask.”
“So, there is that old saying that the vice president is a heartbeat away from the presidency,” O’Donnell told Pelosi. “But it seems, tonight, you're two sneezes away from the presidency with the fact that the president and vice president are not taking the necessary precautions.
“Are you concerned about that situation with the president and the vice president, their lack of precautions?” O’Donnell asked.
“Well, I always pray for our president and vice president and their families, for their safety, for our country,” Pelosi responded.
“But I am also concerned about the example that is not being set for the rest of the country and I'm concerned about those lives because, while the president and the vice president may consider it not in their interest to wear a mask, they have doctors around them all the time who can tend to their needs at any given moment,” she said. “But most of the American people, who might follow their lead, do not have that same opportunity.
“So,” she said, “my concern is about the American people and the poor example the president and the vice president are setting.”
Here is a transcript of the exchange between O’Donnell and Pelosi on Trump and Pence not wearing masks:
Lawrence O’Donnell: “And joining us now, the Representative of California’s 12th Congressional District who is the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives and, in that constitutionally-established office, Nancy Pelosi is second in the line of succession for the presidency. Thank you very much for joining us, Speaker Pelosi.
“And the reason I mention tonight the line of succession for the presidency is Mike Pence was in Florida today very proudly having a hamburger with the governor of Florida wearing no mask, not taking the recommended precautions. Donald Trump obviously doesn't wear a mask. He's going to go to a Ford factory tomorrow, where he surely will not be wearing a mask, not be taking all the precautions. And so, there is that old saying that the Vice President is a heartbeat away from the presidency. But it seems, tonight, you're two sneezes away from the presidency with the fact that the President and Vice President are not taking the necessary precautions. Are you concerned about that situation with the President and the Vice President, their lack of precautions?”
Speaker Pelosi: “Well, I always pray for our president and vice president and their families, for their safety, for our country. But I am also concerned about the example that is not being set for the rest of the country and I'm concerned about those lives because, while the president and the vice president may consider it not in their interest to wear a mask, they have doctors around them all the time who can tend to their needs at any given moment. But most of the American people, who might follow their lead, do not have that same opportunity.
“So, my concern is about the American people and the poor example the president and the vice president are setting.”