Pelosi Gives Vulnerable Democrats Green Light to Call on Biden to Step Aside, Privately Says She Doesn’t Think He’ll Win: Report

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is giving Democrats in vulnerable districts the green light to call on President Joe Biden to drop out of the race, and has been privately saying she does not think he can win in November, according to a report by Politico.

Biden has been facing increasing scrutiny since his verbal stumbles during his debate against former President Donald Trump . Recent polling showed 72% of Americans do not believe he has the “mental and cognitive health to be president.” The days following the debate continued to bring more tough headlines for the president, as rumors swirled about internal discontent among Democrats – including several public calls for him to step aside – and worries about him remaining behind in the polls .

Nonetheless, Biden remains adamant that he intends to stay in the race , and said so during a rally in Wisconsin , his interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that aired last Friday, and a surprise call-in to MSNBC’s Morning Joe Monday morning.

Pelosi found her name in a slew of headlines as well this week, sparked by her notably noncommittal answers on Morning Joe’s Wednesday episode, when co-host Jonathan Lemire asked her about Biden staying in the race. Despite Biden’s insistence that he isn’t going to quit, Pelosi repeatedly framed it as a decision he had yet to make and warned that “time is running short.”

She’s since attempted to shrug off her comments as fake news and even got a bit snippy with a reporter who questioned her about it in the congressional office hallways, but the general consensus over the past few days seems to have settled on Pelosi being very much not convinced about Biden’s electability against Trump.

Politico Playbook Thursday had more about Pelosi’s “behind-the-scenes maneuvering” in the wake of her Morning Joe appearance — a show Biden is well-known to regularly watch — with “a person close to Pelosi” describing her comments as intended to “serve as a subtle green light…meant to encourage members to speak up about their desire to see change atop the ticket — and to warn Biden to reconsider staying in the race.”

The speaker emerita has also “suggested to people that Biden won’t win this November and should step aside,” reported Politico, citing “about a half-dozen lawmakers and others who have spoken with her or are familiar with these conversations.”

Pelosi has even “advised some Democrats in swing districts to do whatever they have to do to secure their own reelections — even if it means asking Biden to relinquish his place atop the ticket,” but has asked them to hold their fire until the NATO Summit wraps up this week, out of respect for the president and the important national security conversations taking place. Some of these Democrats “have already started drafting statements” to release once the NATO Summit is over.

Ever conscious of the party’s image, Pelosi is also reportedly urging the less vulnerable Democrats to “minimize public infighting” by communicating directly with the president or his campaign about encouraging him to step aside. Politico notes that “some have tried but have not been able to get through to the president.”

While Pelosi has publicly maintained she supports whatever decision Biden makes, there have been multiple media outlets reporting that she is saying differently in private — and it is noteworthy that there do not seem to be any reports of her trying to reassure anxious Democrats, urge them to publicly voice their support, or otherwise keep standing by the president.

Read the report at Politico Playbook here .