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Nancy Pelosi told CNN that she has not spoken to Joe Biden since he ended his campaign for president.
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When asked about the health of their relationship, Pelosi said, “You’d have to ask him.”
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Pelosi denied pressuring Biden to step aside.
In his first interview since Joe Biden has ended his re-election campaignRepresentative Nancy Pelosi said she has not spoken to him since.
Speaking to CNN, Pelosi said he hopes to speak to Biden, but “we’re all busy.”
When the prominent California Democrat was asked whether her relationship with the president was OK, Pelosi said, “You’d have to ask him, but I hope so.”
“Look, I loved Joe Biden, I respected him for over 40 years,” Pelosi said, recounting how she worked closely with Biden in his years as a member of Congress. “I think he made one of the greatest contributions to our country in the shortest period of time of any president you can name.”
She added: “He has been a great president with a vision for our country based on values, knowledge and judgment – and a heart full of love for the American people.”
Biden ended his presidential campaign on July 21. Although she denied pressuring him to move awayPelosi is widely considered one of the most powerful Democratic lawmakers and a frequent indicator of party sentiment.
Several of Pelosi’s closest allies — Reps. Adam Schiff from CaliforniaJamie Raskin of Maryland and Zoe Lofgren of California – went public with their views that Biden should drop out of the race in quick succession, sparking speculation in Washington that President Emeritus orchestrated the growing calls among Democratic legislators for Biden to abandon his campaign.
“I know I had nothing to do with it,” Pelosi told CNN when asked if she was behind members’ unified message for Biden to drop out. “And if you ask them, it’s almost an insult to them, because they are formidable figures in the United States Congress; they make their own judgments and their own statements.”
Representatives for Biden and a spokesperson for Pelosi did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment.
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