House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) divulged she has not spoken to President Joe Biden since he ended his re-election bid in July following a Democratic Party mutiny she reportedly stoked.
On Monday, journalist Jonathan Freeland asked Pelosi on his “Politics Weekly America” podcast about whether she has had a conversation with Biden in the nearly months that followed.
“Not since then, no,” Pelosi revealed in the conversation. “So — but I’m prayerful about it. I have the greatest respect for him. I think he’s one of the great consequential presidents of our country.”
Pelosi added: “I think his legacy had to be protected. I didn’t see that happening in the course that it was on — the election was on. My call was just to — ‘Let’s get on a better course. He will make the decision as to what that is.’ And he made that decision.”
Despite locking in the Democratic Party’s 2024 nomination with the support of more than 14 million primary voters, the 81-year-old Biden bowed out of the White House race following a fumbling debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
Biden did so under pressure from allies who increasingly raised concerns about his age, mental acuity, and electability. Vice President Kamala Harris, with Biden’s endorsement, quickly garnered support and became the Democrats’ presidential nominee.
CNN reported that Pelosi privately told Biden that polls showed he could not defeat former President Trump and that he could hurt other members of his party in down-ticket races if he did not bow out.
Pelosi also did an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in which the former speaker emphasized she would support whatever decision Biden made about his political future — even though the president was insisting at the time he would not leave the race. This reportedly emboldenedmore Democrats to turn on Biden.
There have been some reports Biden was frustrated at Pelosi, among others, for pressing him to step aside. However, Biden insisted during an interview on ABC’s “The View” in September that his relationship with Pelosi was “fine” and claimed that he was “confident” that he would have beaten Trump in the election.
On the podcast, Pelosi suggested to Freeland that Biden may have experienced “some unease,” but stressed they have been friends for decades. The lawmaker also contended, “There may be some people around him who haven’t forgiven me for my role,” before she emphasized, “but in any event, we just have to win the election.”
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