House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is weighing in on the removal of art depicting the founding fathers as protests sweep the nation calling for an end to racism and police brutality.
The Washington Post’s Robert Costa asked Pelosi if she believes art depicting slave owners and the founding fathers should be taken down.
“Are you talking about the patriarch of our country, George Washington? The author of our Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson? No. I don’t think they should come down,” Pelosi said.
Watch her comments below:
.@costareports: "Should art depicting slave owners, including our nation's founding fathers, come down in the country?" @SpeakerPelosi: "Are you talking about the patriarch of our country George Washington…Thomas Jefferson? No. I don't think they should come down." #PostLive pic.twitter.com/V8apcCTlWF
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 25, 2020
Although she is not in favor of removing depictions of the founding fathers, Pelosi reiterated her support for removing paintings of former House speakers who served in the Confederacy.
Pelosi previously penned a letter on June 18 to Cheryl Johnson, Clerk of the House of Representatives, in observance of Juneteenth requesting the removal of portraits of House Speakers Robert Hunter, Howell Cobb, James Orr, and Charles Crisp.
Juneteenth marks the end of slavery in the United States.
After Pelosi’s letter was sent, four portraits were removed.
Pelosi echoed her original sentiment confederate statues in the capitol should also be removed.
In a letter sent on June 18 to the leaders of the Joint Committee on the Library, which manages the monuments in Statuary Hall, Pelosi requested they remove eleven confederate statues from the display, as IJR previously reported.
Costa pivoted to asking Pelosi what her message is to activists who believe there needs to be a reckoning when it comes to the founding fathers.
“I would say, rather than tearing down and defacing, why don’t we just have a review,” Pelosi said.
She added, “Let’s take it down safely so that we’re not hurting anybody when the statue comes down or costing more money to get rid of it.”
Pelosi’s comments come just a day after D.C. National Guard announced it will be providing additional security to monuments across Washington, D.C., as IJR previously reported.
