Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, one of the most influential voices in President Biden’s sphere outside his family, sent a rare public signal Wednesday morning that suggested she is trying to push him to consider dropping out of the election.
“It’s up to the president to decide whether he will run or not,” she said on MSNBC. “We all encourage him to make that decision because time is running out.”
Pelosi interspersed her remarks with praise for Biden and his record. But Pelosi is remarkably careful and calculating in her public comments and well aware that Biden has repeatedly and forcefully said he has already made that decision. She spoke on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Biden’s favorite cable news show and the same place where on Monday he made one of his most defiant declarations that he would stay in the race.
Pelosi, a Democrat from San Francisco, is no longer in the Democratic leadership but remains in the House after one of the most consequential terms in history. At 84, she is three years older than Biden and served alongside him for most of his political career. She also had the experience of watching her close friend, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, deteriorate before she died in office last year.
Pelosi said Biden would have the “overwhelming support” of House Democrats. “He is well-liked, he is respected, and people want him to make that decision.”
He also suggested he would not make a more direct call for him to step down.
“I've told everyone to wait, no matter what they're thinking, to tell someone privately, but they don't have to put it on the table until we see how we do this week,” he said.
