Does Joe Biden have Representative Nancy Pelosi’s support to lead the Democratic ticket in November? Pelosi says that it’s up to him.
Pelosi was asked the question on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday, and she ominously replied, “It’s up to the president to decide if he’s going to run.”
“We’re all encouraging him to make that decision, because time is running short,” Pelosi said. Host Jonathan Lemire then reminded her that Biden has said he is going to run, and asked her if she wanted him to run.
“I want him to decide whatever he decides to do, and that’s the way it is, whatever he decides, we go in,” Pelosi responded.
Does Biden "have your support to be the head of the Democratic ticket? Nancy Pelosi's non-answer: "It's up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We're all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short." (He has repeatedly said he's running.) pic.twitter.com/nyeZunyY30
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 10, 2024
Pelosi’s response could be easily interpreted as a non-answer. Immediately after Biden’s disastrous debate performance two weeks ago, she didn’t make a commitment then, either. Last week, she called for both Donald Trump and Biden to each take a mental fitness test.
Even though she doesn’t lead the House Democratic caucus anymore, Pelosi’s opinion still carries a lot of weight as a senior Democrat, and she presumably is in conversation with other leading members of the party. On Tuesday, House Democrats held a private closed-door meeting that reportedly left the party still divided on the future of Biden’s candidacy. While Biden has tried to put any thoughts of replacing him to bed, reports show that many Democrats are worried about his chances of winning reelection. If Biden doesn’t have total support from his party heading into November, it doesn’t bode well.
