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Nancy Pelosi's 'Morning Joe' Interview Is Not What Biden Wanted to See

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  July 10, 2024 10:45 AM

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) joined MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday, supposedly to make some sort of formal declaration about the matter of President Joe Biden's fitness to remain the Democrats' candidate for president and serve another four years in office. Instead of a clear endorsement of the president's candidacy, viewers got another sign of disarray among Democrats as Pelosi stopped well short of voicing her support for Biden. 

Asked on Tuesday whether Biden is the best candidate to run against former President Donald Trump this cycle, Pelosi demurred. "I’m not making any statement right now here in the hall," she told reporters on Capitol Hill. "When I’m ready to make a statement I will." By Wednesday, she was seemingly ready to make such a statement with her appearance on MSNBC.

Asked on "Morning Joe" whether Biden has her support to be the Democrat candidate at the top of the ticket in November, Pelosi refused to directly answer. "As long as the president- it's up to the president to decide if he's going to run," she said. "We're all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short," Pelosi emphasized. 

Pelosi insisted that, among Democrats on the Hill at least, Biden is "beloved, he is respected, and people want him to make that decision." That's a far cry from saying people want him to remain in the race. 

Pelosi was reminded that Biden has made his decision, defiantly stating — repeatedly, in his ABC News interview and a letter to congressional Democrats — that he was not stepping aside and would continue to run for president.

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"I want him to do whatever he decides to do and that's - that's the way it is," Pelosi reiterated, again refusing to answer the question of whether she believes Biden should remain in the race or supports his re-election bid. 

Citing this week's NATO summit in D.C., Pelosi urged Democrats to "let [Biden] deal with" the gathering of world leaders and "hold off" the pontificating — for a day or two at least. "I've said to everyone, let's just hold off. Whatever you're thinking, either tell somebody privately- but you don't have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week." 

That is, Pelosi still sees an opening for Democrats to jettison their own incumbent president from the ticket before November. 

Notably, Biden's "Big Boy" (the White House's description) press conference as part of the NATO summit on Thursday is seen as a test that the president needs to ace if he's going to quell concern within his party after a disastrous debate and less-than-inspiring interview with George Stephanopoulos. 

The fact that Pelosi, formerly one of Biden's strongest allies on Capitol Hill through which he muscled massive spending bills through Congress, won't publicly back him is... not a good sign. It could be partly due to Pelosi's desire to stay relevant after being stripped of her gavel following the 2022 midterms — everyone wants to know what she thinks about Biden's fitness, but if she tells them then the chase is over and reporters will move on to other lawmakers. 

While Biden might have hoped for a firm declaration of support from Pelosi, it sounds like she's as nervous as many other Democrats — including multiple Democrat senators who this week said they don't believe Biden can win in November — seeing round after round of post-debate polling showing Trump surging in swing states and among key voter groups. For lawmakers appearing down-ballot from Biden in November, the fears are real and growing. 

The Cook Political Report, for example, just adjusted six of its state Electoral College ratings in Trump's direction including Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada — triggering even more hand-wringing from Biden's fellow Democrats.