Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took to PBS on Saturday to weigh in on the Democratic Party’s direction and deliver pointed criticism of Republicans, particularly targeting President Donald Trump’s budget proposals. Speaking from the Reframe Festival in San Francisco alongside NewsHour co-anchor Geoff Bennett, Pelosi painted a stark picture of what she sees as misplaced priorities in the current administration’s spending plan.

Pelosi opened her remarks by calling the president’s budget a “shame,” emphasizing that a budget should reflect a nation’s core values and investment in its future. She argued that instead of cutting crucial programs, the government should focus on education at all levels — from early childhood through post-graduate studies and lifelong learning for workers. According to Pelosi, education is not only a foundation for opportunity but also a reliable source of increased federal revenue.

She also highlighted the importance of federal funding for biomedical research, which she described as having “biblical power” to cure illnesses, save lives, and ease financial burdens on families. She questioned how the administration could justify cutting these essential areas while simultaneously offering “enormous tax cuts to the wealthiest people” in the country.

However, Pelosi’s characterization of these tax cuts has been disputed. The current Republican tax plan, including permanent extensions proposed by Trump and his party, reportedly benefits more than 87 percent of U.S. workers and includes provisions such as exempting tips and some government benefits from income tax. These nuances often get lost amid the broader political debate.

Pelosi’s criticism of education spending cuts echoed long-standing Democratic concerns, but Republicans have also faced criticism for decades over attempts to reduce funding to public education, especially as teachers’ unions have grown more influential and student performance metrics have declined nationally.

Shifting from policy specifics, Pelosi addressed the challenge for Democratic leaders to effectively communicate their message to the public, especially in contrast to the Republicans and the Trump administration. She stressed the need for careful prioritization of legislative efforts to clearly demonstrate their impact on everyday Americans. Pelosi emphasized that the Democratic Party’s new leadership and its “courageous members of the House” have been responsible for pushing forward key bills aimed at improving the lives of working families.

Pelosi acknowledged the ongoing struggle to get the public to understand the party’s achievements, suggesting that any failure to connect with voters lies more with the messengers than the message itself. “When somebody doesn’t get a message, it’s not because of them,” she said, “It’s because of us who are delivering the message that we did not deliver it clearly enough.” She pointed to efforts to lower healthcare and housing costs as examples of legislation that Democrats have championed but struggled to explain effectively to the public.

While Pelosi criticized inflation under the Trump administration, suggesting prices are not coming down, multiple reports from reputable news sources tell a different story. In March, inflation eased more than expected, with significant drops in gasoline and used car prices and a slowdown in rent increases. USA Today highlighted the inflation rate falling to a five-month low, while Axios noted that core inflation, excluding food and energy, rose only slightly.

The Associated Press also reported that consumer prices declined last month as gas, airline fares, and hotel costs fell, signaling a cooling in price growth despite ongoing tariff threats from the president. The Wall Street Journal remarked that March saw the first month-over-month decline in consumer prices in nearly five years, a positive development for those weary of rising costs.

Pelosi’s comments thus sit at odds with recent data, underscoring the political tension over economic realities and messaging. Her critique reflects a broader Democratic narrative that frames Trump’s budget and economic policies as favoring the wealthy at the expense of the middle and working classes, while Republicans point to tax cuts and spending measures intended to stimulate growth.

As Democrats grapple with how to communicate their priorities and counter Republican messaging, Pelosi’s remarks reveal the enduring challenge of connecting policy, politics, and public perception. Whether her party can sharpen its message and regain trust remains a central question as the political landscape continues to shift.

In the end, Pelosi’s appearance on PBS highlighted a familiar tension: the battle over how best to define and pursue the nation’s values, economic priorities, and vision for the future, all while navigating a deeply divided political environment.