Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has joined other Democratic leaders, namely House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), in buoying Democrats’ attempts to force President Joe Biden to step down.
Pelosi privately told Biden polling shows he can’t defeat former President Donald Trump and that he could destroy Democrats’ chances to take the House if he continues seeking reelection, according to CNN. He pushed back, saying he’d seen polls that said he could win.
While sources said Pelosi did not tell Biden to drop out of the race, she has said everything but in recent days. She said in an interview last week that the president had a decision to make, even though Biden has forcefully said numerous times that he’s staying in the race.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” she said. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
White House spokesman Andrew Bates did not respond to the details of CNN’s reporting on the recent Pelosi-Biden call.
“President Biden is the nominee of the party. He plans to win and looks forward to working with congressional Democrats to pass his 100 days agenda to help working families,” Bates said.
Pelosi is an influential voice among House Democrats and has reportedly listened to Democrats’ concerns over the last few weeks about Biden’s candidacy.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a close Pelosi ally, recently called for Biden to step down, and Pelosi’s office said she didn’t have a heads-up. Politico reported that “that’s baloney” and both of them are “wired the same way.”
Schumer also privately told Biden to step down.
Several other congressional Democrats have called for Biden to bow out, but the growing outcry among party leadership could prove more convincing for the president, even though he has given no indication he will step down. But Democrats are now trying to influence the president via the Democratic leadership, instead of the scattered calls at the start of the outcry against Biden. Pelosi is key to the effort, with some saying she’s “the shark that never sleeps.”
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CNN’s Kasie Hunt quoted a Democrat who said Pelosi “seems to be at work.”
“She rarely loses,” the Democrat said.