WASHINGTON – WASHINGTON (AP) – Nancy Pelosi influence can be seen throughout the change in the Democratic Party that, in a few agonizing weeks, redesigned the 2024 presidential ticket and the race for the White House.
It was Pelosi who publicly encouraged the President Joe Biden making a decision about his re-election campaign when he had already insisted he had no plans to step aside. After he came out and endorsed Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket, Pelosi was a big fan of her future running mate, Tim Walz.
For the president emeritus of the House, the revolt has less to do with Biden, a friend of 40 years, and more with the Republican donald trumpthe former president she refers to as “Bozo,” “a snake oil salesman,” “what’s his name,” and the “creature from the Black Lagoon.”
“How can I say this as kindly as possible: My goal in life was for the man to never set foot in the White House again,” Pelosi said, banging the table with each word.
Pelosi spoke Wednesday with reporters and columnists about your new book“The Art of Power, My Story as the First Female President of the US House”, which calls for an end to political violence in the US. But it is this unwritten final chapter of Pelosi’s career that shows the soft power she still wields something that can change the course of history.
Repeatedly, Pelosi has refused to detail her conversations with Biden during this tumultuous time, or whether the conversations took place at all. The two have not spoken since he dropped out of the race.
“At some point, I will come to terms with my own play, my own role in this,” she said.
“I think part of all of our goals was to preserve his legacy, a fabulous legacy, that would go down the drain if Bozo were elected to the White House.”
Some details, however, emerged when Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries everyone had private conversations with Biden as he did his historic decision to end your campaign.
Pelosi said it was not her intention to get Biden in trouble when she appeared on his favorite morning news show in early July after his dismal debate with Trump and suggested he make a decision about his candidacy for re-election.
Biden had just written a letter to Congress insisting he was pushing after several rank-and-file Democrats began saying publicly that he should drop out of the race. It was not well received, she said.
It is not just the White House, but control of Congress that is at stake this November. Pelosi was listening to concerned lawmakers and herself did not see a “path to victory” for Biden.
“I was really asking for a better campaign,” she said.
But, she acknowledged of his future options, “it was open, in my opinion.”
Pelosi told Biden early on that she didn’t want him on the debate stage with Trump. She felt it was undignified for him to stand alongside Trump, who refused to debate his own Republican colleagues during his primary campaign for the GOP nomination. And she knew that Trump would use the place to “tell all his lies” without control.
“I just thought it would be like doggy style and you would put this on your shoe and you would all smell like it,” she said.
But she said Biden was very confident and assured him he could handle Trump on stage. “I know you can handle this,” she told him. “But why?”
On the night of the debate, Pelosi settled into her Washington apartment to watch, and as soon as Biden took the stage, it was disconcerting, she said.
“I was shocked.”
Pelosi said she had “never seen” Biden like this.
Pelosi explained her longtime debate advice: Clear your mind. Do not worry about details. Rest. Be yourself.
Whatever the question, “you answer however you want. You own it.”
It was clear that none of this happened with Biden.
“He is the president of the United States, a person who for decades has understood the vision of a country based on values, knowledge, issues and therefore judgment about all of this, with more empathy in his heart than anyone else,” she said . “Who needs to prepare it?”
Pelosi said publicly at the time that she wanted to know if this was an episode with Biden or a condition?
She made it clear that she wanted a more aggressive campaign “so people could see his strength.”
Simply remembering past accomplishments, like Biden was doing, is important, she said, to show voters that you know how to accomplish goals. But elections are really about what you do next.
“Elections are about the future,” she said. “Finish the job.”
None of this rematch with Trump would have been possible if the Senate had voted to convict, rather than acquit, him of the charge of inciting the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, because that would have made him ineligible to seek the House. White again. Pelosi attributes this result to the Republican leadership of the Senate and considers it shameful.
As crowds swell this week for rallies for the new Harris-Walz ticket in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, Pelosi marvels at the energy and enthusiasm flowing toward Democrats, especially from young people.
Pelosi said she believes any of the potential vice presidential candidates would have been a great choice. But she has made no secret of her preference for former House members – which Walz does – to counter how she believes White House administrations tend to be more respectful towards the Senate.
As some calculated which vice presidential candidate would best help Democrats in swing states, Pelosi said the question for Harris was: Who will help him govern? She said she didn’t speak highly of Walz, but spoke highly of all the candidates.
Asked whether Democrats would gain control of the House, she said, “That’s the plan.”
Asked whether her book’s title was an intentional homage to Trump’s “The Art of the Deal,” she said: “Nothing I do has anything to do with him except his downfall.”
