In an interview with MSNBC, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was asked if Joe Biden has her support in the presidential election.
“Does he have your support to be the head of the Democratic ticket?” an anchor asked Pelosi.
Pelosi did not explicitly endorse Biden as the Democrat nominee.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he’s going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,” Pelosi said.
WATCH:
🚨Wow. Nancy Pelosi still won't back Joe Biden:
MSNBC: “Does Joe Biden have your support to be the head of the Democratic ticket?”
Pelosi: “It’s up to the President to decide if he’s going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.” pic.twitter.com/BUBFJwfYZc
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) July 10, 2024
Per CNBC:
Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday refused to explicitly endorse President Joe Biden as the party’s presidential nominee, and encouraged her colleagues in Congress to pause from making public statements either for or against Biden.
“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,” Pelosi said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
The comments were notable because Biden has repeatedly insisted that he will not drop out of the race against former President Donald Trump, and said that his decision is final.
Pelosi’s carefully worded comments suggested she believes Biden is still deciding whether or not to remain atop the ticket.
Nancy Pelosi: "Time is running short" for Biden's decision to drop out.
Odds he drops out are back up to 50%. pic.twitter.com/2vM25miKhM
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) July 10, 2024
Multiple House Democrats have publicly called for Joe Biden to step aside.
High-Ranking House Democrats Reportedly Call On Joe Biden To Withdraw From Presidential Election
"Nancy Pelosi suggested that President Biden should reconsider his decision to stay in the race, the strongest public push yet from a senior member of his party for him to weigh dropping out," The New York Times wrote.
Breaking News: Nancy Pelosi suggested that President Biden should reconsider his decision to stay in the race, the strongest public push yet from a senior member of his party for him to weigh dropping out. https://t.co/oqoIsVa0Ah
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 10, 2024
From The New York Times:
When pressed on whether she wanted him to seek re-election, Ms. Pelosi said: “I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with.”
Her comments amounted to a bombshell among Democrats who are puzzling over Mr. Biden’s future, but the former speaker quickly moved to walk back any suggestion that she was suggesting he should exit the race.
“The president is great, and there are some misrepresentations of what I have said,” she said in a statement to The New York Times. “I never said he should reconsider his decision. The decision is the president’s. I don’t know what’s happened to The New York Times that they make up news. It isn’t true.”
In the interview, Ms. Pelosi said she wanted to delay the conversations about Mr. Biden’s future until after the NATO summit he is hosting this week in Washington, which on Thursday will include the president’s first news conference since his disastrous debate performance, which raised questions about his mental acuity and fitness to remain in the race.
Biden has remained defiant this week, penning a letter to House Democrats saying he's "firmly committed" to staying in the race.