WASHINGTON (AP) – Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday “it’s up to the president to decide” whether he should stay in the 2024 race, despite the president Joe Biden insistence that he is still running for re-election, showing how unsettled the issue remains between prominent Democrats and on Capitol Hill.
“We all encourage him to make this decision because time is running out,” Pelosi said Wednesday on MSNBC.
Pelosi has been widely watched for signs of how top Democrats are thinking about Biden’s decision candidacy in dangerand your comments will be seen as important for the party’s leadership, as they evaluate possible alternatives in the campaign against republican donald trump.
Because of her powerful position as a former speaker of the House and her proximity to Biden as a trusted, longtime ally of his generation, Pelosi is seen as one of the few Democratic leaders who could influence the president’s thinking.
Pressed on whether she personally wants Biden to remain at the top of the list as he did defiantly said he will continue in the racePelosi said, “I want him to do whatever he decides to do.”
The lack of a full statement from Pelosi supporting Biden’s continued campaign is what lawmakers are likely to hear most of, suggesting that despite the president’s pledge not to step aside, his party still has questions about his candidacy and whether he is the best choice to face. Trump.
Pelosi’s comments come as Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, speaks forcefully about the danger of a second Trump presidency and says it is up to the president to “consider” the options.
Stopping short of calling for Biden to step down, Bennet said on CNN what he told his colleagues in private – that he believes Trump “is on track to win this election – and perhaps win it by a landslide and take the Senate with him. and the Chamber.”
Bennet said: “It’s not a question about politics. It’s a moral question about the future of our country.”
Democrats are grappling with the question of whether to continue supporting Biden after his poor performance in the June 27 presidential debate with Trump and his campaign’s lackluster response to calls for Biden to show voters he is running for another four-term term. years.
House and Senate Democrats met privately on Tuesday, the first group meetings in Washington since the debate. While seven House Democrats have publicly called on Biden to end his candidacy, no Senate Democrat has gone that far. Bennet was among three Democratic senators, including Sen. Jon Tester of Montana and Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who spoke during a private lunch on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the meeting who granted anonymity. to discuss it.
Pelosi, D-Calif., said Biden “has been a great president,” loved and respected by House Democrats.
The Californian said she watched his powerful speech at the NATO summit on Tuesday and recounted his many accomplishments.
Although foreign leaders are in Washington this week and Biden is on the world stage hosting the event at a critical time in foreign affairs, Pelosi encouraged Democrats to “hold off” on any announcements about his campaign.
“Whatever you’re thinking, tell someone privately, but you don’t have to put it on the table until we see,” she said, what “this week” will look like.
