President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden wave to the press after they disembark Marine One at Philadelphia International Airport, Saturday, February 3, 2024, before boarding Air Force One en route to Los Angeles. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
Less than two weeks ago, Joe and Jill Biden were “all in” on the 2024 campaign, with many considering Jill to be the driving factor behind Joe’s desire to continue his campaign. Since then, Joe Biden has oddly announced his withdrawal from the campaign on Twitter (X), and hasn’t even given a national address explaining his reasons. It would seem that despite Jill’s insistence, the pressure from Democratic leaders, or someone else, got to Joe. The question now is, who overruled Jill? NBC’s Scott Wong and Ali Vitali report that Nancy Pelosi pressured Biden. They write:
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped down from her powerful perch leading House Democrats nearly a year and a half ago. But behind the scenes, sources say, Pelosi, a Democrat from San Francisco, played a critical role in delicately nudging President Joe Biden to the exits.
Although Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Pelosi’s protégé, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, also told Biden about Democrats’ concerns about him continuing his campaign, three sources told NBC News that any time the issue of his dropping out began to die down and lose momentum, they viewed Pelosi as the one fanning the flames.
Unlike Schumer and Jeffries, Pelosi is no longer on the Democratic leadership team and could afford to be more front and center in the effort to push Biden out after his disastrous debate performance last month.
“I think Pelosi continues to show she’s a master political tactician,” a House Democratic leadership aide said Sunday.
Throughout Democrats’ painful three-week ordeal, Pelosi never publicly called on Biden to quit the race; neither did Schumer or Jeffries. Doing so could infuriate Biden and cause him to become intransigent and never step aside.
Instead, Pelosi worked quietly and methodically, speaking to scores of rank-and-file lawmakers, members of her old leadership team and her large network of Democratic donors who had once made her the party’s most prolific fundraiser.
For those vulnerable rank-and-file lawmakers who reached out to her seeking guidance, two sources said, Pelosi advised that they “speak their conscience” in the days leading up to Biden’s stunning decision to drop out. A source close to Pelosi made it clear that she was not initiating conversations but fielding calls. On Friday, 13 congressional Democrats called on Biden to exit the race, the most defections in a single day, handing him what would be the fatal blow to his campaign.
“That groundswell on Friday of members calling for him to step down was all Nancy’s doing,” said a vulnerable House Democrat who spoke with Pelosi last week.
Barack Obama pushed Biden to drop out, though less directly. Sky News’s Samuel Osborne reports:
Mr Obama has “concerns” about his ability to remain as the Democratic nominee, two people familiar with his thinking told NBC News, Sky’s US partner.
He sees Mr Biden’s route to victory in November “getting harder”, said one of the sources.
Read more here.
If you’re willing to fight for Main Street America, click here to sign up for my free weekly email.
