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Paul Pelosi attends the Kennedy Center Honors in his first public appearance since the attack

December 5, 2022

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Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), made his first public appearance Sunday at the Kennedy Center Honors since he was violently attacked at the couple’s San Francisco home in October.

The 82-year-old entrepreneur was greeted with a standing ovation as he accompanied his wife to the legendary event at the Kennedy Center Opera House.

At the event honoring Americans who have made significant contributions to the arts, Paul Pelosi was seen seated next to his wife on the Opera House balcony of the performing arts center, wearing a hat while applauding the winners. He had a black glove on one hand.

Guests, stars and honorees spoke on the Kennedy Center Honors red carpet in Washington, DC on December 4. (Video: Allie Caren, Breanna Muir/The Washington Post, Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Reuters/The Washington Post)

In October, an intruder broke into the couple’s home at night in the exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood through a glass door, looking for the speaker, who was out of town at the time of the incident, and shouting “Where is Nancy?”

Paul Pelosi recovers as attack renews focus on toxic politics

Pelosi suffered injuries so severe from a hammer that they forced the business executive to undergo surgery to repair a fractured skull. Pelosi also suffered “serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” according to the president’s office.

David Wayne DePape faces multiple state and federal charges related to the attack, including attempted murder, attempted kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. According to court documents, the 42-year-old told police he was on a “suicide mission” and was targeting a number of state and federal politicians to combat “lies” coming from Washington.

Last month, the speaker said her decision not to seek to lead the Democratic Party in the next session of Congress was partly due to the attack. She said she felt guilty for being the target of the intruder, but her husband endured the attacks.

In her speech last month announcing her decision to step down from leadership, Pelosi thanked her husband, calling him “my pillar of support”, and said she was grateful for “all the prayers and well wishes then May he continue his recovery.”

The lawmaker told reporters last month that her husband was “doing well” but was facing a long recovery. The emotional trauma of the incident left a deep mark on the entire family, Pelosi said.

“If he had fallen or slipped on the ice or had an accident and injured his head, that would be horrible, but whether it was an assault on him because they were looking for me, it’s really – they call it ‘survivor guilt’ or something,” she said in her most detailed comments after the incident. “But the traumatic effect on him, it happened in our house.”

“It turned our house into a crime scene,” Pelosi added.

While some GOP lawmakers and noted figures expressed concern for the couple following the incident, the Pelosis quickly became the target of conspiracy theories from political opponents and right-wing punches in the days following the attack, which the speaker strongly criticized.

“If your spouse was in a situation where other people would make a joke of it, think it was funny, collect money for the abuser’s bail, come up with a conspiracy theory about what it was all about — it’s so awful to think that the Republican Party has come to this, and no real rejection from anyone in the party,” she said. “It’s so sad for our country.”