Nancy Pelosi believes a female president is inevitable, but 'maybe not' in her lifetime

WASHINGTON, DC: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke candidly about women rising to the highest levels of political power, saying they face significant obstacles but are fully capable of shattering the “marble ceiling.”

In a conversation with USA Today’s Susan Page, Pelosi said she believes a woman can become president. However, she acknowledged that she likely will not see it happen in her lifetime, adding that it may come in the next generation. 

Pelosi has previously voiced her support for a woman becoming president and leading the country, making this far from the first time she has spoken out on the issue.

Nancy Pelosi says woman president unlikely soon

During an interview released Sunday, December 14, Nancy Pelosi was asked whether she believed a woman would be elected president in her lifetime. “I certainly hope so,” she said. “I always thought that a woman would be President of the United States long before a woman would be Speaker of the House.”

Pelosi predicted a woman would reach the Oval Office within the next generation. “I think it's probably, maybe not in my lifetime, but within this next generation, there'll be a woman,” she told Susan Page.

She recalled that men in power, whom she jokingly refers to as “poor babies”, were far less welcoming when she entered Congress. “It's not a glass ceiling, it's a marble ceiling,” Pelosi said.

“I thought certainly the American people are far ahead of the Congress in terms of their acceptance or their enthusiasm for a woman to be President of the United States,” she added.

Nancy Pelosi says Americans are ready for a woman president 

This is not the first time Nancy Pelosi has spoken about a woman leading the country. She recently pushed back on Michelle Obama’s suggestion that Americans might not be ready for a female president.

“Well, I hope, I mean, I respect her, and I know that view is one that we all are saddened by, but we, I think, we have to change. The fact is that I‘ve heard every excuse in the book, you know, like, ‘I‘m not sure a woman could be commander-in-chief.’ Well, why not?” Pelosi asked. “‘Well, I served in the military.’ Well, OK. And so? So do women serve in the military.”

Pelosi added that she “always thought we would have a woman president long before we had a woman Speaker of the House,” noting that she “didn't set out to be speaker.”

Pelosi became the nation’s first female House Speaker nearly two decades ago and has since seen two women run for president: Hillary Clinton in 2016 and former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.