Nancy Pelosi Made Everyone Sit Through a Song From Hamilton for the Insurrection Anniversary

If ever there was a moment for all of the people who genuinely believe that we are living in a computer simulation to start saying I told you so, this may very well be it. On Thursday, during the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, Nancy Pelosi treated her peers to a clip of the cast of Hamilton singing “Dear Theodosia,” which was preceded by a clip from Lin-Manuel Miranda reading a prepared statement explaining why this song is relevant.

Now, I love a bop from a musical as much as the next gal (and were I organizing this event I probably would not have chosen “Dear Theodosia”) but, musical tastes aside, this entire display is borderline criminal. Pelosi can listen to the Hamilton album on an infinite loop in her downtime for all I care, but to have all her peers gathered to remember a literal insurrection that happened a year ago and make them watch a pre-recorded Zoom singing session? Girl, what are you doing?

What really makes this even worse is her use of a quote from the show to introduce the clip: “If we lay a strong enough foundation, we’ll pass it on to you.” George Washington was a notorious proponent of enslavement, as was Alexander Hamilton. When Hamilton wasn’t thinking about enslaving others, he was noodling in his frantic little brain about occupying lands owned by indigenous tribes.

Or perhaps the foundation to which she’s referring is the financial one that Hamilton laid out? The one that is currently crumbling and has the United States operating on a multi-trillion dollar deficit.

This is not a knock against Hamilton. As a piece of art, the Broadway show is enjoyable. But perhaps while the country is in the middle of an omicron surge, a student loan debt crisis, a reproductive rights disaster, and having to come to terms with the fact that an entire year has passed since white supremacists tried to topple the government, it’s not the best time to jam to Ham. That gathering could have been an email, Nancy!