Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) dismissed the scandal surrounding texts from Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones when asked about the violent rhetoric.

Jones has faced backlash over text messages he sent suggesting that former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert should receive “two bullets to the head” and wishing death on his children. Despite the scandal, he is still in the race and remains the Democratic nominee. 

CNN anchor Dana Bash asked Pelosi whether Jones should drop out of the race on Inside Politics on Wednesday.

“Well, that’s up to the people. The leaders in Virginia, they have said he has apologized. What I understand is they say that on balance, he’s a better person to be attorney general, but that’s up to them,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi was referring to Jones’s apology when he said, “Like all people, I’ve sent text messages that I regret, and I believe that violent rhetoric has no place in our politics.”

As a public figure, Pelosi has faced threats that have extended to her husband, Paul Pelosi, who was attacked in their home in 2022.

“But I wish there would be enough fuss. Of all the times that people have said they were going to put a bullet in my head, right in the public domain,” Pelosi added. “We have to get rid of that kind of language. I mean, it’s just not appropriate.”

SPANBERGER DEFLECTS QUESTIONS ABOUT JAY JONES TEXTS AS REPUBLICANS EXPERIENCE MOMENTUM

Pelosi was following in the footsteps of Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who is currently running for governor, in refusing to call for Jones to drop out. Spanberger has condemned Jones’s texts but has not called on him to drop out.

Meanwhile, Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have called on Democrats to force Jones to drop out of the Virginia attorney general election.

, 2025-10-08 20:59:00, , Washington Examiner, %%https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-favicon.png?w=32, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feed/, Jenny Goldsberry