House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was “set up” during her recent salon trip, which has sparked a wave of backlash from Republicans.
“I take responsibility for taking the word of a neighborhood salon that I’ve been to many times. They said they were able to accommodate one person at a time…I trusted that,” Mrs. Pelosi said. “It turns out, it was a set up. So I take responsibility for falling for a set up.”
“I think this salon owes me an apology for setting [me] up,” she added.
The California Democrat was grilled by reporters about the incident at a press conference to promote her party’s priorities for state and local funding in the next coronavirus relief deal.
The press conference hit a rough stretch as the California Democrat pushed back on reporters’ questions about the now-viral video of her visiting a San Francisco hair salon.
Mrs. Pelosi argued she didn’t want the incident to overshadow the more important point of getting needed relief to businesses and more resources to state governments.
The video, obtained by Fox News, went viral on Tuesday, showing Mrs. Pelosi, with her mask around her neck, as the sole patron in a hair salon.
The owner told the news outlet it was against city regulations, which allowed outdoor services on Tuesday, but that the speaker was brought in on Monday by an independent contractor.
When pressed about not wearing a mask, Mrs. Pelosi — who has repeatedly championed mask-wearing to the public — pushed back that the photo caught her just after washing her hair.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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