Nancy Pelosi Defends Timing of Her Taiwan Trip When Grilled by Savannah Guthrie on 'Today' Show

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Getty

Last week, Pelosi traveled to Taiwan for a visit she said “honors America’s unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan’s vibrant Democracy.” In the aftermath of her visit, tension in the region has risen with China announcing new military exercises off the Taiwanese coast.

The House Speaker toldSavannah Guthriethat the trip “followed the President’s direction that we would have a focus on the Asian Pacific,” adding that “it’s important to us to have parliamentary to parliamentary exchanges.”

Pelosi’s trip was controversial due to the reaction it sparked from China, which has resulted in new military drills and import restrictions on Taiwan’scitrus and fish. Yesterday, The Taiwanese defense ministry “said it detected 66 aircraft and 14 warships conducting naval and air exercises,” reported theTaipei Times.

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Pelosi told Guthrie, “We were well received. Thousands of people in the streets … the people of Taiwan welcomed the visit.”

Taiwan residents' reactions were more wide-ranging and varied, including some individuals supporting her visit and others holding negative signs, with one calling her an “American witch.”

“There’s a jolting disconnect between how the outside world perceives Taiwan (as a potential flashpoint for world war), and how we in Taiwan see Taiwan (our dear home where we live),” Taiwanese American journalist Clarissa Wei writes in an essay forCNN.

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She added that Pelosi’s visit is a “gesture of solidarity, but the hyperbolic alarms sounding off as a result of her visit only play to China’s advantage and supports the illusion that Taiwan is not a democratic country with its own laws and borders.”

“If the world truly cares about the well-being of Taiwan, then give us a seat at the table,” Wei concluded in her essay.

source: people.com