Nancy Pelosi on recent Democratic losses: ‘We have a plan to address that’

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), moments after calling President Donald Trump the “deflector in chief,” deflected a question of her own regarding the leadership of the Democratic Party.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Pelosi Tuesday night to name who is currently the leader of her party. In response, the top House Democrat said: “Well, President [Barack] Obama was the president of the United States until just a matter of weeks ago.”

“I don’t think he can be dismissed as the leader of the Democratic Party,” she continued. “[Former Democratic presidential candidate] Hillary Clinton did not win the election, but is a respected leader. But we have leaders for all different aspects of it. The Democratic Party is a congressional party, and we have leaders in Congress. It is a gubernatorial party.”

Interestingly, Pelosi didn’t mention the newly elected leader of the Democratic National Committee, Tom Perez, who served as secretary of labor under  Obama.

Cooper interrupted Pelosi’s winding answer about Democratic leadership to remind her that the left has “suffered tremendous losses” recently on the state level.

[graphiq id="D1xo82a23j" title="House Seat Breakdown by Major Party" width="600" height="647" url="https://w.graphiq.com/w/D1xo82a23j" ]

And the CNN anchor is right. Roll Call reported in November that Republicans control an all-time high of 68 out of 99 legislative chambers and they have control of both chambers in 33 states, up from 31.

Also, Democrats hold the governor’s office in only 16 states, while Republicans control 33, along with one independent.

But apparently that’s all going to change in a 2018 “referendum” against Trump, according to Pelosi. Between this year and 2018, Politico reported, 38 governorships — 27 of which are held by Republicans — are up.

“We have a plan to address that,” Pelosi told Cooper, after conceding that the Democrats have suffered major losses across the country. “[I]’m thinking of 2018 ... the first referendum on Donald Trump will come forward.”

And as for why there is no clear leadership in the Democratic Party right now, Pelosi simply said: “We’re not in a presidential time.”

.@NancyPelosi: "I am not thinking of 2020. I am thinking of 2018 ... the first referendum on Donald Trump" https://t.co/31iOVtI4MD

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) March 22, 2017