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Does This Cringe CNN Interview Help Explain Why Pelosi Suggested Biden for Mt. Rushmore?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  August 06, 2024 7:15 PM

On Monday night, CNN aired the interview that Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had with Dana Bash about her relationship with President Joe Biden. In the days leading up to Biden's July 21 withdrawal from the presidential race, Pelosi was among those who reportedly had a role in his ouster. Her particularly icy appearance spoke even further to the strained relationship, even as she had just laughably suggested that Biden should be on Mt. Rushmore.

During her interview with Bash, Pelosi claimed "I had nothing to do with that" with regards to her "allies" who were among those calling on Biden to withdraw: Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). 

"And if you ask them, it's almost insulting to them, because they're formidable figures in the Congress of the United States. They make their own judgment and their own statement," Pelosi also responded.

It got even more awkward from there, as Bash asked "have you spoken to President Biden since he dropped out?"

"No, I have not," Pelosi answered, though she did answer "yes, I hope to" in her follow-up response. "We're all busy" was the excuse she had to offer. In another particularly cringe moment, Bash asked "is everything okay with your relationship," and what Pelosi offered wasn't a resounding affirmation. "You'd have to ask him, but I hope so," she instead offered.

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Perhaps Pelosi is trying to suggest Biden appear on Mt. Rushmore, given what a "consequential" president he supposedly is, in order to make amends?

On "CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip," during which clips of the interview were played, host Abby Phillip highlighted how such a response about being "busy" was "very, very interesting." During a panel discussion she also insisted "it really does suggest that the relationship is maybe --the fact that they haven't even spoken, I think, speaks volumes."

Although former White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton tried to dismiss such a concern, former Lieutenant Governor Betsy McCaughey did bring up the point that "I think what Americans want to know is not what happened between Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden, but why Kamala Harris wasn't more honest with the American public in the many months before the final resolution of this."

Burton and McCaughey ended up getting into a back-and-forth on the topic, but a YouGov/Times of London poll showed that nearly all voters believe Harris and "Democrats in Congress," which certainly includes Pelosi, were involved in covering up for Biden in such a way. 

Even Phillip wondered "why, why is Pelosi trying to distance herself from this?"

Sure enough, Phillip also played the clip of Pelosi referring to Biden as "a consequential president of the United States, a Mount Rushmore kind of president of the United States" during which she also claimed "I wasn't asking him to step down," though she did go on to say "I was asking for a campaign that would win. And I wasn't seeing that on the horizon."

This is not the only time Pelosi has been particularly aloof when asked about her role in ousting Biden. As Matt covered earlier this week, she had quite the similar interview on "CBS Sunday Morning."