During her weekly press conference last Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) refused to even say former President Donald Trump's name when asked by a reporter about his potential 2024 run.
.@SpeakerPelosi on possible Trump 2024 presidential campaign announcement soon: "Do I ever even mention his name? Would I even waste my time talking about him? What I will say is...Democrats have absolutely no intention of losing the House in November, and the Senate, too." pic.twitter.com/cG48C8N9iW
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 15, 2022
"Trump has indicated that he plans to announce a 2024 run in the next month or so. What impact would that have on the midterms, and would it benefit Democrats, in your opinion," the reporter asked.
Pelosi didn't provide much of an answer about Trump running again, which is looking increasingly likely. Trump had announced on Thursday that he has made his decision and is mulling when to announced it. She answered the question with another question "Do I ever even mention his name? Would I even waste my time talking about him?"
When it comes to another part of the question, the speaker then went on to discussing the upcoming midterm elections, now a little over three and a half months away. Such elections are often seen as a referendum on the party in power, with historical trends indicating that the president's party almost loses seats during his first midterm elections.
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"What I will say is – and I'll say this, and I've said it again and again: Democrats have absolutely no intention of losing the House in November, and the Senate, too. We are mobilized, we are fortified, we have great candidates and we have a great – our country is at risk. Our Democracy is at risk," she continued with. "But what we are campaigning on are the kitchen table issues that affect America's working families. So they know the difference between a Democratic and Republican Administration on top of Congress, on top of which – on top of which our Democracy is at stake."
Pelosi may have such intentions all she wishes, and she communicated as much earlier in the year as well, but it's Republicans who are still predicted to win control of the House.
She also said in concluding her response that "we do know that if people vote, if women vote, women win, and so do their issues. So that's what we're about." As Guy and I have covered though, polls indicate women support pro-life policies more than men do.
It's also curious that Pelosi would say she isn't speaking to 2024. "I don't speculate on who's running in 2024, even if it's a former occasional occupant of the White House," she said. While she was asked and was speaking about Trump, or rather was seeking to avoid speaking about Trump, it's worth wondering if this lack of speculating on her part extends to whether President Joe Biden will run for re-election.
Although the president has indicated several times he plans to run for re-election, with the possibility of a rematch with Trump seeming to further embolden him, there are doubts even from fellow Democrats. Reports from The New York Times have highlighted Democrats in disarray over that issue, and a New York Times/Siena College poll released last week indicates not even Democratic respondents don't want Biden to run again.
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