Nancy Pelosi delivered a speech at Oxford University, arguing that populism is a "very dangerous threat to democracy".
Despite being a US political heavyweight, the 52nd speaker of the House of Representatives faced fierce opposition from those in attendance - who gave her a run for her money.
Pelosi's case centred around an argument that populism threatens the pillars of democracy, including free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, freedom of the press and accountability of elected politicians.
She said: "That is everything that the populist regime in Washington DC is against".
Addressing students at the Oxford Union, Pelosi described populism as a "threat to democracy", saying it is "about threatening elites"
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Addressing students at the Oxford Union, Pelosi described populism as a "threat to democracy", saying it is "about threatening elites".
She added: "Populism is a very dangerous threat to democracy, not just in America where we're seeing it play out. In the context of a fight between democracy and autocracy.
"The version of populism, ethno-nationalist populism, tries to bring down education. And fake news, the media which is a protector of democracy, that version is contributing in countries around the world and it is a danger to democracy."
But standing up to speak after Pelosi concluded was host of the 'Marshall Matters' podcast for the Spectator, Winston Marshall.
He accused Pelosi of conflating populism with "racism" and attempted to use former US President Barack Obama's own words against him.
Marshall said: "Populism has become a word used synonymously with racist, we've heard ethnonationalism, bigot, hillbilly, redneck, the deplorables.
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Addressing students at the Oxford Union, Pelosi described populism as a "threat to democracy", saying it is "about threatening elites".A
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"Elites use it to show their contempt for your opinion. This is a recent change.
"Not long ago, Barack Obama, whilst still President, at the North Americas leaders' summit, June 2016, took umbrage with the notion that Trump be called a populist.
"How could Trump be called a populist? He doesn't care about working people.
"If anything, Obama argued, Bernie [Sanders] was the populist. It was Bernie who spent five decades fighting for working people. Not Trump.
"If you watch Obama's speeches after that point, more and more recently, he uses the word populist interchangeably with strongman, authoritarian. The word changes meaning.
"It becomes a negative, a pejorative, a slur. To me, populism is not a dirty word. Since the 2008 crash, we are in the populist age. For good reason. the elites have failed."
Regardless of where you stand on populism, the rhetoric put to Pelosi was certainly powerful.
