Nancy Pelosi is reportedly concerned about Joe Biden’s chances of beating Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
The former Speaker of the House is said to have been working with some House Democrats to devise a plan to persuade Biden to reconsider and step down as the party’s nominee heading into November.
One Democrat lawmaker anonymously described her as ‘very concerned’ about Biden, noting she is not necessarily making it clear that ‘we’re sticking with [Biden]’.
Another source said Pelosi’s message was: ‘The stakes are so high. We can’t afford to do anything but have our best possible opportunity to win.’
She’s reportedly concerned that the Biden campaign’s response to the disastrous debate in Atlanta, which started this controversy two weeks ago, was not ‘an honest reckoning’ or ‘an objective analysis’.
Another anonymous Democrat said: ‘It’s very clear that she doesn’t think this matter is settled and that Joe Biden’s statement – ‘I’m running; shut up’ – is not the final word. She said, ‘No, we’re still talking about this.”
Pelosi is rumored to be representing members who feel Biden continuing in the race is being ‘rammed down their throats’. ‘Team Biden made it clear what their strategy was: ignore the problem, run out the clock, and force the rest of us to live with it,’ said Adam Smith of Washington, who called on Biden to drop out.
A spokesperson for Pelosi told The Hill a similar message to the one she delivered on MSNBC Wednesday.
‘Speaker Pelosi fully supports whatever President Biden decides to do. We must turn our attention to why this race is so important: Donald Trump would be a disaster for our country and our democracy,’ Ian Krager said.
Asked if Biden has her support on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, the former speaker said: ‘It’s up to the president to decide if he’s going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running out.’
Reminded that Biden has made up his mind, Pelosi said: ‘I want him to do whatever he decides to do.’
‘Whatever he decides, we go with.’
Biden wrote in a letter to Hill Democrats on Tuesday: ‘I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump.’
