Nancy Pelosi Avoids Endorsing Joe Biden

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi avoided saying whether she wanted Joe Biden to run as the Democratic Party's candidate for the 2024 election, despite the president making clear he won't step aside.

"It's up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We're all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short," Pelosi said on MSNBC's Morning Joe. When pressed by host Jonathan Lemire on whether she wanted Biden to run, the Democratic California representative said: "I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that's the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with."

"Let's just hold off. Whatever you're thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don't have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week," she added.

The Context

Biden is facing increasing calls to end his election campaign in the wake of his stumbling debate performance against former president Donald Trump on June 27.

On Tuesday, New Jersey Representative Mikie Sherrill became the latest House Democrat to call on Biden to end his 2024 campaign to allow a new candidate to take on Trump in November.

Biden has repeatedly stated his intention to remain in the race following the CNN debate.

Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden
Nancy Pelosi introduces Joe Biden in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 11, 2022. Pelosi has stopped short of saying she wants Biden to keep running in the 2024 election. Alex Wong/Getty Images

What We Know

Pelosi stopped short of saying she wants Biden to continue his campaign on Morning Joe, pointing out that only he can make such a decision.

"[Biden] is beloved, he is respected. And people want him to make a decision," she said.

Pelosi also urged other Democrats not to comment on the discussion about Biden's future until after the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., concludes.

"[Biden] is the host of it, and that means he's not just hosting; that means orchestrating the discussion and setting the agenda. And he's doing so magnificently," Pelosi said.

Pelosi previously expressed her support Biden following his worrying debate performance on June 27, telling CNN: "It was a bad night. It was a great presidency."

She also rejected calls for her to try and persuade Biden to step down from being the Democrats' 2024 nominee.

Views

Alyssa Farah Griffin, former White House communications director in the Trump administration, posted while sharing Pelosi's remarks: "If anyone was going to step up & get through to Biden, it was always going to be Pelosi.

"It's not in her DNA to sit back idly while a potential House Democratic majority slips through her fingers. Let him get through NATO."

Rep. Sherrill calling on Biden to end his 2024 campaign: "When I think of my four children and all of the rights that another Trump presidency endangers, and in light of the recent Supreme Court decision that gave inordinate power to the President of the United States, the stakes are too high—and the threat is too real—to stay silent.

"I know that President Biden and his team have been true public servants and have put the country and the best interests of democracy first and foremost in their considerations. And because I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country, I am asking that he declare that he won't run for reelection and will help lead us through a process toward a new nominee."

What's Next?

Biden is on course to be confirmed as his party's 2024 nominee at the Democratic National Committee in Chicago in August.

Update 07/10/24, 10:01 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

About the writer


Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more

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