Pelosi key to Biden exit – NBC

The former House Speaker reportedly played a key role in pushing Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 race

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi played an instrumental role in pressuring President Joe Biden out of the 2024 race, warning him of the consequences of continuing his campaign, NBC reported on Monday, citing sources.

After weeks of speculation and mounting pressure from within his own party, Biden announced on Sunday that he will not stand for re-election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to become Democratic Party nominee for the November election.

According to NBC’s sources, Pelosi was a key player in “delicately nudging” Biden to drop out. While Pelosi did not publicly call on Biden to quit, she “worked quietly and methodically” behind the scenes, the sources said. Pelosi reportedly spoke to scores of rank-and-file lawmakers and urged them to “speak their conscience” on Biden’s candidacy.

Three sources told the outlet that any time the issue of Biden dropping out of the race began to lose momentum, Pelosi was the one “fanning the flames” to reignite it.

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“I think Pelosi continues to show she’s a master political tactician,” one House Democratic leadership aide was quoted as saying.

On Friday, more than a dozen congressional Democrats joined the growing chorus of lawmakers calling on Biden to step aside as the party’s nominee over concerns of his mental and physical state.

“That groundswell on Friday of members calling for him (Biden) to step down was all Nancy’s doing,” another Democrat who spoke with Pelosi last week told NBC. 

Asked how responsible Pelosi was for Biden’s decision to quit, one Democratic lawmaker said “50%.

One Democratic source said former speaker Pelosi was considered “politically still our leader” and predicted that “she and she alone can ensure Kamala’s success.”

According to the report, on Saturday – the day before Biden’s withdrawal announcement – Pelosi warned him in a private phone call that if he stayed in the race, he could lose so badly to Republican Donald Trump that it could cost them control of both the House and the Senate.

According to CNN, Pelosi and Harris spoke on Sunday after Joe Biden quit the race. Pelosi endorsed Harris on Monday, calling her “brilliantly astute” and saying she has “full confidence that she will lead us to victory in November.”