Video: Rubio Opens His Freezer, Offers Ice Cream to Pelosi on Small Biz Funding (Plus: Cruz Makes an Offer, Too)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during her weekly media availability on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “Marie Antoinette” moment from earlier this week should go down in the record books as one of the most absolutely tone-deaf moments in United States political history.

To recap what she did, as millions of Americans were sitting at home jobless and broke thanks to all the business closures associated with state efforts around the country to combat the Wuhan coronavirus, Pelosi did an interview from her posh San Francisco home with “Late Late Show” host James Corden.

This was in the midst of her going on the record to brag about how House Democrats were blocking funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, which ran out of money.

As Pelosi spoke with Corden, she stood perfectly coiffed and stylishly dressed in front of two large and no doubt very expensive stainless steel refrigerators and gushed to Corden about her freezer full of premium ice cream treats. Here’s how my RedState colleague Nick Arama framed it:

If you’ve lost your job or are having trouble getting toilet paper, food or paying your mortgage or rent, what a great thing it is to see Pelosi talk with James Corden about how she keeps her spirits up “during these trying times,” showing off expensive commercial grade appliances jam packed with her $12 pints of designer ice cream in her freezer.

Watch:

We all have found our ways to keep our spirits up during these trying times. Mine just happens to fill up my freezer. #LateLateShow pic.twitter.com/dqA32d5lU1

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) April 14, 2020

People were understandably appalled at Pelosi’s actions, not just for holding up the bill but also for her chutzpah, yucking it up with Corden while so many including thousands of homeless people in her own district were suffering:

Nancy Pelosi showed off her $25K refrigerator filled with gourmet ice cream on late night TV while her constituents live on the streets in San Fransisco. pic.twitter.com/2TzjVNLnFk

— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) April 16, 2020

As of today, the stalemate is still ongoing, and Republicans including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) are fed up. So much so that Rubio filmed himself opening up his freezer and offering Pelosi the M&M ice cream he had if she’d stop holding the bill “hostage.” He started off by mocking the differences between his one side-by-side refrigerator and Pelosi’s two big fridges:

“Alright, I only have one refrigerator, and only like half of it is a freezer, right? But I will give you all the ice cream I have in here, Madam Speaker, if you will fund small business and stop holding it hostage. All of this right here, these M&Ms. Make it happen.”

Watch:

So I hear Speaker Pelosi really likes ice cream?

Here is what I am willing to do if she will stop holding aid for #SmallBusiness hostage pic.twitter.com/nqrcgTSbWd

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) April 17, 2020

His Senate colleague Ted Cruz (R-TX) threw some Chunky soup into the mix: