Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has denied reports that she was behind the recent Democratic revolt that led to Joe Biden dropping out of the race last month.
Pelosi, 84, told CBS News, “No, I wasn’t the leader of any pressure (campaign). Let me say things that I didn’t do: I didn’t call one person. I did not call one person. I could always say to him, ‘I never called anybody’”.
“I did not call one person.” Speaker Nancy Pelosi talks with Lesley Stahl about her role in President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race. https://t.co/BtvgDUKdYf pic.twitter.com/cnJ8ywR5sU
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) August 3, 2024
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Reports have suggested Pelosi’s behind-the-scenes machinations played a part in Democrats calling on 81-year-old Biden to drop out of the race.
This includes claims that Pelosi told Biden he couldn’t win the Nov. 5 election and had him talk to longtime adviser Mike Donilon on the phone when he suggested polls indicated he could still pull it off. During this time, key Pelosi allies Reps. Adam Schiff and Zoe Lofgren joined the chorus of calls from Democrats for Biden to bow out of the race.
Pelosi’s actions have been interpreted as giving her colleagues the green light to question Biden’s fitness for a second term.
Many also noted Pelosi’s office did not deny reports about her meetings with Biden.
Publicly, Pelosi initially defended Biden after his poor debate performance in June, which triggered the revolt against him.
However, she later went on television and seemed to suggest his continued candidacy was an open question.
Pelosi’s fellow leaders, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have also refused to divulge their conversations with Biden during the mutiny.
Schumer had urged Biden to step aside, according to reports by ABC, but he has since declined to comment on the matter. Pelosi further stressed that she has “never shared any conversations with the President of the United States publicly.”
While Biden has yet to address his reported feelings about Pelosi’s role, the former House Speaker has commented saying, “He knows that I love him very much.” Despite Pelosi’s denial of being behind the revolt, many allegations still question the former Speaker’s contributions to Biden’s campaign decisions.
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Says the serial liar, tax cheat, inside trader, & alcoholic.
“I did not call one person”. That would be true if she called more than one person. It would also be true if she didn’t make any outbound calls but received a bunch.
She has her personal assistant make the call. She just talks on it.
Why don’t I believe her?