Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became visibly agitated during a CNN interview on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, when host Jake Tapper confronted her with President Donald Trump’s allegations that she and her husband engaged in insider trading to build their wealth.
The heated exchange occurred on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” at 8:14 PM EDT, when the host attempted to show Trump’s comments from earlier that day accusing Pelosi of becoming rich through insider information in stock trading.
When technical difficulties prevented the video from playing, Tapper began reading Trump’s statement directly. Pelosi immediately interrupted him, demanding to know why he needed to read the president’s comments aloud. She emphasized that she had agreed to appear on the program specifically to discuss the 60th anniversary of Medicaid, not to address trading allegations.
Tapper persisted, explaining he wanted to give her an opportunity to respond to Trump’s accusation of insider trading. Pelosi dismissed the allegation as ridiculous and expressed strong support for legislation to stop trading by members of Congress.
The California Democrat clarified that she does not personally engage in stock trading, stating that while she has no concerns about investments made over time, her husband handles such matters without any insider involvement. She emphasized that anyone found guilty of wrongdoing would face prosecution and imprisonment.
Pelosi then turned the accusation back on Trump, suggesting he was projecting his own exposure regarding trading issues. “He’s always projecting,” she stated, requesting that no more time be devoted to the president’s comments.
The controversy stems from ongoing scrutiny of Paul Pelosi’s investment activities. Trump had told reporters earlier Wednesday that Nancy Pelosi became wealthy through inside information, calling her husband’s trading success disgraceful and demanding an investigation. The president claimed she achieved some of the highest returns in Wall Street history.
Trump’s comments came amid Senate consideration of legislation designed to ban stock trading by government officials. Republican Senator Josh Hawley’s bill, originally titled the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments Act with the acronym PELOSI, advanced through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday with an 8-7 vote.
The legislation gained Democratic support after being renamed the HONEST Act and expanded to include trading restrictions for presidents and vice presidents. The bill would prohibit lawmakers and their spouses, along with executive branch officials, from trading individual stocks while in office.
Paul Pelosi’s trading activities have drawn attention for their timing relative to congressional actions. In 2022, he traded between $1 million and $5 million worth of semiconductor stocks days before Congress voted on a $52 million industry subsidy. More recently, reports indicated he made $38 million worth of stock trades in the weeks before Trump’s January inauguration.
During the CNN interview, Pelosi also addressed Trump’s past comments mocking the 2022 hammer attack on her husband, which left him with a fractured skull. She expressed pride in her family while criticizing the president for making light of the violent incident that occurred when an intruder broke into their home.
Following the exchange, Pelosi issued a statement supporting Hawley’s legislation, emphasizing the need for strong transparency, accountability, and enforcement regarding financial conduct in office. She indicated willingness to support any measure that restores public trust in government and ensures elected officials serve public interests rather than personal portfolios.
A spokesperson for Pelosi told multiple outlets that the former speaker does not own any stocks and has no knowledge or involvement in any transactions. The statement emphasized that all trading decisions are made independently by her husband without her input or participation.
Trump later reversed his initial support for the legislation, posting on Truth Social that Hawley was playing into Democrats’ hands and that the bill would benefit Pelosi while harming the country. This represented a significant shift from his earlier tacit approval of the measure during the Wednesday news briefing.
The heated CNN exchange highlighted ongoing tensions between Trump and Pelosi over ethics in government, with both sides trading accusations about financial impropriety and conflicts of interest in public service.
