Nancy Pelosi's bizarre rambling during speech to Gen Z sparks 'intoxication' claims
The former Speaker of the House, 85, has made viral moments for the wrong reasons this year, snapping at a reporter for asking if she'd run for a 20th term and using a walker to get around the floor of the Capitol.
Addressing Gen Z activists at the Voters of Tomorrow summit in Washington, Pelosi attempted to diagnose problems she saw regarding income inequality.
'We've moved to shareholder capitalists, where the CEO of the company is making like 300 or 400 times what the workers are making. It would take some of the workers a lifetime to make... a lifetime to make what the CEO makes in one year,' she said as she gestured using her finger.
'We have important work to do about fairness and all the rest of that. How could that be okay? Even CEOs have complained about that, that's not what capitalism is supposed to be about.'
She got sidetracked in trying to figure out how many years a worker would take to earn what a CEO does, saying you'd 'have to go back to before the Revolution... to make what the boss makes.'
'This is unfair, it's unjust, it's undemocratic, it's wrong, it's shameful and it must be shamed. And we are going to... that's our fight, to cancel the cuts,' she said, referring to Donald Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill.'
'But with a reason... and also listening, to how you see what the priorities should be for the future.'
Pelosi tried to end: 'I'll just, again, close by saying... and I mean it this time... I'm from Baltimore, I felt when I was going here that I was going back to Baltimore. Any Marylanders here? Any Californians here?'
She then cited the Star-Spangled Banner being written in Baltimore before naming a favorite line from it as she ended the talk.
Social media - particularly conservatives - pounced at the speech.
'WTF? What's wrong with Nancy Pelosi, is she intoxicated? Gibberish and more gibberish! I don't think the audience can even understand what she is saying. One of the premier faces of the Democrat Party,' wrote Eric Daugherty.
Another took on the content of Pelosi's speech: 'What about the hundreds of millions SHE has made trading stocks of those companies based on insider information?'
One compared the address to a fellow California politician's speech patterns: 'She drank Kamala's lemonade.'
Another succinctly demanded: 'Term limits.'
Pelosi, 84, suffered a fall last December in Europe and underwent hip replacement surgery.
🚨 WTF? What's wrong with Nancy Pelosi, is she intoxicated?
Gibberish and more gibberish!
I don't think the audience can even understand what she is saying.
One of the premier faces of the Democrat Party. pic.twitter.com/TNNnPX7jE1
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 25, 2025
Many branded Congress a 'nursing home' after Pelosi was pictured using her walking frame to get around the floor a month later.
Heading into the 2025 session, the average age of Congress members is 79 days older than last session, at 58.9 years old.
While the image of Pelosi has sparked criticism, she is not the oldest serving member of Congress.
Delegate to the House Eleanor Norton holds that title at 88 years old. Hal Rogers is also 87, while Maxine Waters is 86, while Steny Hoyer is 85.
Republican congresswoman Kay Granger was recently found in a dementia care facility after she vanished from work.
A bombshell report in December revealed the 82-year-old Texas Representative, who hadn't cast a vote in the six months prior, was discovered at a memory care facility after reportedly being found wandering lost and confused through her neighborhood, according to an investigation by the Dallas Express.
Granger, who wound up a nearly 30-year career in the House in January, was reportedly living in the $4,000-a-month nursing home for the previous six months.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 82, has also faced intense scrutiny after several concerning public episodes where he appeared to freeze mid-sentence.
To serve in the House, a member must be at least 25 years old, while the age restriction is set at older than 30 in the Senate.
The retirement age in the United States is 65.
Pelosi was an outspoken advocate in 2023 of Supreme Court term limits, arguing that they would help hold the powerful justices 'to account.'
She has represented San Francisco in Congress for 37 years.
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