Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is distancing herself from the Biden administration just over two weeks after the president ended his bid for reelection.
The former Speaker of the House discussed President Joe Biden and his government with The New Yorker's David Remnick on Thursday. Although she had previously touted her close relationship with Biden, Pelosi became increasingly critical of the president in recent weeks.
“I’ve never been that impressed with his political operation,” she said of Biden.
The president dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on July 21 after his weak debate performance – compounded by surging support for former President Donald Trump after he survived an assassination attempt. Pelosi ultimately joined other Democrats who had called on Biden to step aside.
According to Business Insider:Pelosi privately told Biden and several colleagues that she found it incredibly difficult to see a path forward for his candidacy. … She also reportedly worked behind the scenes to get him to drop out. Her influence has been so significant that Biden himself considered her the "main instigator" of the situation.
Pelosi has denied pressuring Biden to leave the race.
“They won the White House. Bravo,” Pelosi said when Remnick asked about the final days of the Biden campaign. “But my concern was: this ain’t happening, and we have to make a decision for this to happen. The president has to make the decision for that to happen.”
“People were calling. I never called one person. I kept true to my word,” she added. “
Pelosi said “any conversations” she had would only have been with Biden and denied reports that she discussed the issue with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“I never called one person, but people were calling me saying that there was a challenge there,” she added. “So there had to be a change in the leadership of the campaign, or what would come next.”
The day after Biden ended his campaign, Pelosi endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I have full confidence she will lead us to victory in November,” she said in a statement, per POLITICO.
Pelosi recently described Biden as "such a consequential president of the United States, a Mount Rushmore kind of president of the United States” during an interview on Aug. 4. She also said that the president was at “the top of his game” when he decided to end his reelection campaign. One day later, Pelosi told CNN she had not spoken to Biden since July 21.
When Pelosi stepped down from Democratic leadership in November of 2022, Biden said he and his wife Jill “count Nancy, Paul, and their family among our dearest friends.”
“History will note she is the most consequential Speaker of the House of Representatives in our history,” he said in a statement released by the White House. “There are countless examples of how she embodies the obligation of elected officials to uphold their oath to God and country to ensure our democracy delivers and remains a beacon to the world.”
Pelosi received the Valerie Biden Owens Women of Power and Purpose Award from the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware in December of 2023. The award is named for the president’s sister, who led a moderated conversation with the congresswoman. Biden called into the event to “congratulate Speaker Emerita Pelosi and praise her leadership,” according to a statement from Pelosi’s office.
