It’s being reported tonight that Nancy Pelosi had a recent private conversation with Joe Biden, telling him that polling shows he can’t beat Trump and that if he stays in the race, he’ll be destroying the chances for Democrats to control the House and Senate.
But Joe Biden got defensive and completely disagreed, saying he’s seen the polling that shows he can win.
Pelosi told Biden’s long-time advisor to explain it to him, according to CNN. I guess it didn’t work
Here’s the reporting:
New: Nancy Pelosi privately told Biden in a recent conversation that polling shows that the president cannot defeat Trump and that Biden could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he continues seeking a 2nd term, sources tell me @jamiegangel @jeffzeleny
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) July 18, 2024
Biden responded by pushing back and being defensive about the polls, telling Pelosi he has seen polls that indicate he can win. At one point, Pelosi asked Mike Donilon, Biden’s longtime adviser, to get on the line to talk over the data.
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) July 18, 2024
This phone call would mark the second known conversation between Pelosi and Biden since the June 27 debate.
One source described it as being within the last week. Pelosi and Biden also spoke in early July.
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) July 18, 2024
The White House responded, saying Biden is the nominee and that’s that:
WH response to this CNN reporting, from Andrew Bates:
“President Biden is the nominee of the party. He plans to win, and looks forward to working with congressional Democrats to pass his 100 days agenda to help working families.”
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) July 18, 2024
I believe there was an interview in which Biden said that if his advisors came to him and told him he can’t win, then he’d drop out of the race. I think that’s what Pelosi was trying to accomplish here and it clearly failed.