“I recognize cowardice when I see it”

AUSTIN, Texas – Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested former President Donald Trump might stay away from the upcoming presidential debate out of “cowardice,” but the Republican candidate's campaign insisted she was simply trying to spread “fake news.”

Pelosi (D-Calif.) appeared at the Texas Tribune Festival over the weekend, where she spoke with journalist Kara Swisher about a variety of topics before signing copies of her latest book.

Pelosi spent much of the time slamming Trump, escalating her anger as the highly anticipated presidential debate on ABC News approached on Tuesday.

Swisher asked Pelosi what advice she would give Trump before the duel with Harris.

Pelosi, 84, joked: “Do you think he’ll show up?”

The predominantly liberal audience burst into laughter, followed by applause, while Pelosi smiled slightly.

Swisher asked, “Do you know something I don’t know?”

“I know cowardice when I see it,” Pelosi replied.

Swisher went on to say she believes Pelosi agrees with former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who called Trump a “misogynistic pig” on the same stage at an earlier Trib Fest event.

“Isn’t she wonderful?” Pelosi said of Cheney.

At the beginning of the conversation, Pelosi told Swisher that her current position was “Speaker Emerita,” but that “Speaker” was still her title.

The Trump team dismissed Pelosi's suggestion that the former president would stay away from the debate as “fake news.”

“Nancy Pelosi has no idea what she's talking about and she's been proven to be a liar and a fraud. When she's not busy giving herself false titles to make herself feel better, she's spreading fake news because that's all she's ever done,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital.

Pelosi and Trump have a long history of mutual animosity, and they have regularly exchanged barbs over the years.

In 2020, Pelosi famously ripped up her printed copy of Trump's State of the Union address immediately after he delivered it to a joint session of Congress.

Trump and Harris are scheduled to debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday evening.