mrs. pelosi: when people ask me, "are you afraid of what might happen?" i say, "no, because of the goodness of the american people, the strength of our democracy, we will prevail." and my motto is, "the flag is still there."

francine: she's been the face of her party for a generation, spending two decades as a top house democrat. nancy pelosi made history when she became the first female speaker in 2007. until recently, the most powerful woman in u.s. politics. she's also faced years of attacks from republicans, a campaign that escalated under former president donald trump. mrs. pelosi: we have an aberration in our country right now, but hopefully that won't last too much longer. but nonetheless, we still have to strive for unity. sometimes you achieve it, sometimes you don't. but we have a responsibility to act in a bipartisan, unifying, transparent, accountable way. francine: in this episode of "leaders with lacqua," i traveled to venice, where nancy pelosi was a special guest at the dvf awards, a charity event recognizing women leaders. i asked her about the divisions in america, the democrats' chances at next year's presidential election, the biggest geopolitical threats,

and what she's learned for more than 35 years in public office. speaker pelosi, thank you so much for speaking to bloomberg. you're one of the most recognizable and also one of the most admired politicians out there. what did you learn in the last 40 years about leadership in politics? mrs. pelosi: well, i've learned a lot about leadership for a very long time, observing it in others, recognizing what is needed to get the job done. and i always define it in this way, know your "why." you have to know why you're doing this because you will be under attack, that's for sure. know, your "why," know what you're talking about. know how to get it done. think in a strategic way, and then that's all up here, and then also connect directly with people. if you can show them how important what you're advocating is and what you know you're talking about so they trust your judgment and you have a plan,

you will have followers, you will be a leader. francine: is it harder to do that in 2023 because of the divisions in america? mrs. pelosi: well, we have to -- our goal is not inch by inch. it's long term. and, of course, it's always to bring people together. we have an aberration in our country right now, but hopefully that won't last too much longer. but nonetheless, we still have to strive for unity. sometimes you achieve it, sometimes you don't. but we have a responsibility to act in bipartisan, unifying, transparent, accountable way. francine: how do you think president biden is doing right now? mrs. pelosi: i think he's doing great. i think president biden is one of the best presidents in recent history, for decades. nobody has accomplished more since lyndon johnson or franklin roosevelt. whether it's our rescue package to rescue our country from the

covid and the rest, whether it's our infrastructure bill to build the country with good paying jobs, whether it's the science and chips initiative to take us into the future, whether it's ira, which is just remarkable to recognize the challenge of the climate crisis and to address it significantly in a bigger way than we ever have, a bigger way than anyone ever has, but recognizing more needs to be done. and at the same time, recognizing our men and women in uniform and our commitment to them. francine: speaker, is it frustrating actually that he has achieved a lot on paper, but he doesn't always seem to get the recognition from voters? mrs. pelosi: it is. it's sometimes hard to understand, but we don't agonize, we organize. we just said this is -- please understand, what is accomplished, what it means to you at your kitchen table. and people, most people, i'm realizing, aren't thinking about politics that much.

theya™re thinking about their -- they are thinking about their own challenges and the rest. and we have to have him relate to that. now, nobody's better at that than he is. joe biden is mr. empathy. he cares deeply about people. he truly does. so i think he's a great president. i think he will be reelected. elections are hard. they're called campaigns. that's a war term. [laughter] but we'll be ready. and as i say, we don't agonize over what isn't, but organize for what will be. francine: speaker, what's it been like for the democrats to be the minority? mrs. pelosi: not a good thing. i don't recommend minority rule at all. it is -- but we're going to win it back. we have every confidence in that. i mean, they said we would lose 40 seats, 30 seats at a minimum. we lost five. that wasn't good enough. i wanted the majority. but we can win five seats or more than five seats. francine: how have you changed as a politician?

mrs. pelosi: well, i think i've mellowed out, become gentle. [laughter] francine: really? mrs. pelosi: i don't know. no, i pretty much knew what i was getting into. i didn't seek running for leadership. people encouraged me to do so. and i knew my "why." i knew what was at stake. i knew how to get the job done, and i knew how to draw people together. and at the same advice i give others, i did myself -- women have intuition. people don't talk about it so much. but when i was young, that was what people talked about. intuition is a very valuable thing in leadership, and when people say to me they want to run for president or governor or mayor, or even leadership in the congress i say, understand you're going from a deductive reasoning, how do we get this legislation passed, to intuitive, there's a problem, you must act.

the more time you don't, the fewer your options are. so, be ready. know your subject. have good judgment, be wise. francine: speaker pelosi, you stood up against president trump many times, and it's gotten you in some spots of trouble. are people more afraid now of taking him on? mrs. pelosi: i didn't stand up to him many times. i stood up to him once. it lasted a very long time. [laughter] he -- yeah, people are afraid of him now because, as you see, his desperation. in other words, it's one thing to say we have a disagreement on policy, okay? and we do. we have another thing to say that truth is not prevailing, but it's another thing to say there's a recognition of all the violations of the rule of law, that any person is above the law, undermining the press, which is the -- the freedom of the press is the guardian of the gate of freedom. so, he was clever.

undermine the press, undermine the rule of law, i'm above the law. so seeing the lengths to which he will go, of course, is more frightening. he's a threat to our democracy, but we intend to win. francine: he's so popular with the voters. mrs. pelosi: well, he's popular among his group. francine: are you surprised at how popular he is? mrs. pelosi: i'm never surprised. it's not a word i use. i just don't use the word. it's interesting to see how there is a certain element of the population who will just go for him. they are people we would probably never get. they don't share our values in terms of respect for the dignity and worth of every person and the rest. but there are some who are supporting him who are just afraid. and that's to be respected. so i respect all of the people of america. and when people ask me, "are you afraid of what might happen?," i say "no, because of the goodness of the american people, the strength of our democracy, we will prevail." and my motto is, "the flag is still there," as we say in our national anthem.

francine: is there a republican president, candidate that you could live with? mrs. pelosi: i'm not into republicans. i'm into the democrats. and hopefully the republican party can find a candidate that -- i say to the republicans all the time, take back your party, the republican party is a great party. you've done great things for our country. you're not a cult to a thug. you're a great, grand old party. and recapture that, because the public -- america needs a strong republican party. a strong democratic party, too, but a strong republican party. so, hopefully as soon as we get through this, shall we say, cancerous situation that we're in, the malignancy of trump, that they will emerge in a strong way with the leadership that i know is there in the republican party. francine: up next, nancy

pelosi's harsh assessment on china, and why she thinks the world's two biggest economies must cooperate on climate change. mrs. pelosi: we don't have shared values, but we have a shared planet. and we have to work with the chinese to save the planet, because they are now, i think, the biggest emitter. if not us, they're second, and they're part of the solution in all of this. ♪

francine: from taiwan to tech curbs, human rights concerns to covid, china's relationship with the us has been rocky. in recent months washington has sent several high profile officials to beijing, seeking to improve ties. but will anything change? i continue the conversation with nancy pelosi, a long time critic of the chinese government. when you look at geopolitics, what scares you the most? mrs. pelosi: there are three things.

one is security. security, security, security. so important, security. secondly is economics. how do we relate economically? because that's the strength of all of our countries, to do so in a shared manner. and governance. governance. what is the strength of the democracy in your country? how do you treat people and respect them? what is the integrity of your economic system? so those are how we relate as americans going abroad. on security, what is happening in ukraine is a challenge to democracy. not just there, not just in the nato countries, but really, to the world. and what a tribute to democracy that the courage of the ukrainian people are. what's frightening is that putin does not share any values of democracy, of justice, of respect for the lives of people, concern for children or

anything. and he's frightening. but what's doubly frightening is a person like the former president, who thinks that's okay. isn't that sad? but it's so sad and so extreme that it's, everything to me is not frightening, but an opportunity. francine: an opportunity, but when you look at china, for example, if you look at what the u.s. has been doing with china and how they should treat china going forward. mrs. pelosi: well, china is a big country, and so are we. and we have to find an accommodation on how we treat each other. but in terms of the three things i named, security, china has been a violator of transferring technology, of weapons of mass destruction to rogue countries, a. b, in terms of economics, they've been violating almost every trade standard of access

of piracy, obeying wta rules and the rest. and in terms of governance, need i tell you, hong kong, tibet, they are a threat to taiwan and the rest. so we don't have shared values, but we have a shared planet, and we have to work with the chinese to save the planet. because they are now i think the biggest emitter, if not us, they're second, and they are part of the solution in all of this. i've been to china, as much as i have for 35 years, since tiananmen square. how many years is that? 34 years. been a strong critic of china in so many respects, security, economics, and governance. still, we have to work together in certain areas and we have to find those. i don't think we find them by rewarding them. i think we find them by mutual discussion about how we can go forward. francine: but is that bringing them closer? mrs. pelosi: that's up to them.

francine: so, closer, actually relationship with the us so that maybe it becomes a better working relationship also economically? mrs. pelosi: our trade deficit with china is an immorality. when you see the fuss that was made long time ago about japan was like 2 to 1, almost 3 to 1, sometimes, of their imports into our country versus our exports to theirs. with china, it's more than double that. and it's -- when i first started criticizing china about the three areas i said, the trade deficit was $5 billion a year. and people said to me, "oh, you can't make a fuss over that because the peaceful evolution is going to lead to -- that trade is going to lead to this, that, and the other thing." well, now the trade deficit with china is not $5 billion a year. it's $5 billion a week. and we gave it to them. they use that money for their

foreign exchange, to go into other countries, buy up support, and the rest of that. and we were accomplices to that. and i've always criticized our policy toward china in that regard. francine: how often do you get asked about your trip to taiwan? mrs. pelosi: not enough. i love talking about it, as a matter of fact. francine: you think it's changed something in the way that the us and china speak to each other? mrs. pelosi: well, there's no -- president xi has always criticized my criticizing him. my colleagues, menedez and the rest, had been to taiwan right before me. he never said it. did you know that? did you know that? no, he never said a word. but i have been sort of outspoken about china, u.s.-china relations, and with a love for china. with a love for the chinese people. when i was a little girl, they'd say, if you dig a hole deep enough in the sand at the beach, you will reach china. so we felt that we were all connected.

so it isn't with any dislike for things chinese or people chinese. it's about -- it's about what? at a genocide of the uigurs, a suppression of democracy in hong kong while promising one country, two systems, a taking down of the culture, the language and the religion, the people in tibet, the threat to taiwan, the threat to democracy -- not democracy, but the threat to freedom of speech. francine: what do you think will happen with taiwan? mrs. pelosi: we recognize china. our visit did nothing to alter that. and we have communiques, laws that govern our relationship with china and our relationship with taiwan, which are very specific. and we are committed to helping taiwan defend itself should they be attacked. we don't want any change in status, unless it were to be done peacefully, but no

aggression from either side. francine: speaker, we're seeing also a downturn in terms of the economy in china, which could impact the rest of the world. do you think president xi is losing control of it? mrs. pelosi: we and other countries decided to ride this tiger, and we poured money. you know, they just -- we just bought everything they had to sell. we increased their -- and then, when and then when they their economy is in trouble, we're like, oh, look, it has an impact on us. surprise, surprise. surprise, surprise. but it's not -- it's not a -- we dona™t want any country to suffer economically, because people suffer economically. but understand this. it's a centralized economy. it's a one man show.

it isn't anything about values, governance, integrity, certainly nothing to do with democratic freedoms. i'm not even talking about a democracy. i'm talking about establishing a democracy. but we're talking about -- i mean, this is pretty complete in terms of xi. he is a step backward from president hu by the way. francine: but speaker, at the same time, the economy is actually falling. so is he -- i mean, how do you read that? mrs. pelosi: we don't wish a failing economy on anyone, but we don't say, oh my gosh. now, some people have an attitude, i profited for it then and now i'm not. but it was worth it to me to just go along with the whole china thing. money has been, really, a sad factor in this, because from the start, corporate america -- corporate america just said, "we don't care about human rights." i don't think they mostly ever have. we don't care about human rights, and the security pieces of it, they should have.

but on the trade stuff, most small businesses that would want to trade to china were completely cut out, because the chinese said, "if you want to sell to us, you must manufacture here. and if you manufacture here, we want to see your designs. and if we have your designs, we don't need you anymore. and, by the way, you're not selling here. you can compete with us in the global market." francine: up next, nancy pelosi on why artificial intelligence can't be a free for all. mrs. pelosi: we need guardrails. we need standards and the rest, so that this double edged sword doesn't do harm, but instead does good. ♪

francine: artificial intelligence. the buzzword that's dominating headlines and creating a frenzy in the tech world. but the dangers of misinformation and fears of potential threats to privacy, security, and livelihoods have forced governments to move to regulate it. it's a task lawmakers in the u.s. are still grappling with. i continue the conversation with nancy pelosi. speaker, how much time do you spend thinking about elon musk? i mean, he's a force. mrs. pelosi: well, i do think he's a force in terms of technology, and especially relating to ukraine. but i don't spend too much. and we have a lot of strong

leaders. i come from an area that is very, shall we say, technologically on the move. francine: yeah. mrs. pelosi: and every every year since i've been in office, or even before, they have said to me, "you ain't seen nothing yet." so we don't know what is next. but i don't spend too much time thinking about him. francine: in terms of ai or technology? mrs. pelosi: ai is a double edged sword, and that's in my district too in san francisco, and the people i know who are working in that, who care about our country, care about our country know that it's a double edged sword, that we need guardrails, we need standards and the rest so that this double edged sword does not harm, doesn't do harm, but instead does good. and it can do some good. but right now we have a strike in the creativity industry. writers and actors and the rest. and there has to be respect for

the creativity that they have. and ai has an impact, could have an impact on that. and we have to recognize that. write laws to respect that. in our constitution we have respect for copyright. francine: but do we need to regulate ai? should we regulate elon musk? mrs. pelosi: to build in protections. francine: and social media? mrs. pelosi: i mean, social media has been a double edged sword. it's done tremendous damage while it's done tremendous good. and that's really sad. but who would want to reverse the ability to have health technology and education and commerce and family communication and all the good things that sprang from it? francine: yeah. mrs. pelosi: while at the same time seeing filthy, dirty stuff being presented to our children and the rest of that.

so there has to be a way for families to know how to protect their children. i myself think that there's a regulation in the law that could be changed to protect children. that's an ongoing fight we have with the technology industry. francine: when we talk about leadership it's also, i guess, about grooming the next generation. is there anyone that you would support in the democratic field for president or for senator? mrs. pelosi: well, i'm supporting adam schiff for senator, from california. we have 40 million people in our state. our senator, who is very revered, senator feinstein, has been a champion in california and in the country. whether you're talking about an assault weapon ban, she has been the leader in passing legislation for that. whether you're talking about protecting our natural resources, whether it's water, forest, and so, again, it's a big state.

it's the fourth economy in the world, and we need full strength in the senate. francine: there have been younger democrats, you know, saying that senior senator should -- criticizing her. mrs. pelosi: welcome to our world. people criticize everybody. francine: but should they not criticize? mrs. pelosi: they can do whatever they want, it's a free world, but they don't -- and i can criticize them for criticizing her, because the fact is, she's been really so, so much a champion. and tell you the truth, over the years there have been many men who have had concerns and their service, and some of them young, but nonetheless ill. but you never even heard about them. and i'm not going to tell you who they are. francine: final question, the big elephant in the room, because we're in italy, is that there are always rumors that you'll end up as ambassador, maybe to the vatican. mrs. pelosi: we have an ambassador.

francine: will you serve your full term, as congresswoman? mrs. pelosi: absolutely, positively, no question about that. the question is what i do beyond that. francine: so you're not going anywhere for now? mrs. pelosi: no, no, no. not going. i mean, i'm here. francine: speaker, thank you so much for joining us today. mrs. pelosi: my pleasure. thank you. thank you so much. ♪ you can make money the hard way as a bullfighter or a human cannonball... or save money the easy way, with xfinity mobile. existing customers can get a free line of our most popular unlimited plan for a year! not only will you save hundreds but you'll also be joining millions who have connected to america's most reliable 5g network. sure is a lot safer than becoming a stuntman for money. get a free line of unlimited intro for a year when you buy one unlimited line. plus, get the new samsung galaxy s24 on us.

mike: it was really going to be my last try a this. it was so much an endeavor and risk involved and personal, if i