A new advertisement on Instagram reels pokes fun at House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
“This is how political stock trading actually works,” an actress says in the ad’s opening for Autopilot’s investment app. The woman’s makeup, hair, outfit, jewelry, and speech patterns give her an unmistakable resemblance to Pelosi.
Then the impersonator says, “You know how in a poker game when the players know the next hand, it is called cheating—But in Congress, it is just a typical Tuesday.”
“We sit on the committees and pass the laws,” the actress says. “So we might get a sneak peek at which companies get a lucky government contract, and guess what–– it’s totally legal because we decide what’s legal.”
The ad highlights unsuccessful attempts to limit congressional stock trading and states that users can invest alongside Congress members using the Autopilot app.
The website for Autopilot makes a similar pitch.
“Invest like a politician,” the first words on the Autopilot website reads.
The homepage shows a series of investment trackers users can use to track their investments, including a “Pelosi tracker” and a “[Warren] Buffett tracker.”
The app has around 7.8K reviews on the Apple App Store. The review average was 4.6 out of 5 stars, with 5-star reviewers complimenting the app for its ease of use and improvements in their investment returns.
A one-star review said there was a technical problem when the app was linked with a Fidelity account. The developer’s response said that “they [Fidelity] only allow[s] Autopilot to use settled funds (withdraw able) [sic]. We also have had a lot of Autopilot customers tell us Fidelity put a hold on their funds being traded.”
Pelosi’s investments have long been the subject of public scrutiny.
CBS’s 60 Minutes has previously confronted the then-speaker about whether she was investing based on non-public information she was privy to because of her role. The Speaker denied any conflict of interest.
Unusual Whales, a stock-tracking website and X account, was spotlighted by tracking Pelosi’s investments and posting their findings online.
Other finance-focused outlets have noted Pelosi’s exceptional investing success compared to other prominent businesspeople. “Nancy Pelosi’s investment expertise was evident in 2023, where her stock portfolio surged by an impressive 45% over the previous year,” finance outlet Finbold wrote. Finbold’s calculations showed this was the most significant one-year return out of the figures they examined, including Warren Buffett and Michael Burry.
Pelosi is not the only figure from the political realm whose image has been used in Instagram ads in recent months.
Just two weeks after Thomas Crooks fired at then-former President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, his face was featured in advertisements for apps that demonstrated how to enhance one’s appearance, reported The Dallas Express. The posting account, iblamelookss, said that its app could rank the quality of user’s features such as skin, hair, jawline, cheekbones, and facial masculinity.
