Senior Democratic strategist David Axelrod said he thinks former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) recent comments on President Biden’s candidacy were “very significant.”
Axelrod joined CNN’s Dana Bash on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing turmoil within the Democratic Party as calls for the president to step aside increase.
Bash asked Axelrod, a longtime adviser to former President Obama, what he thought of Pelosi’s earlier statement Wednesday, where she said it’s up to Biden himself to “decide if he’s going to run” and Democrats are “all encouraging him to make that decision.”
“Time is running short,” Pelosi said.
Axelrod, who has become an outspoken critic of the Biden campaign in recent weeks, said Pelosi’s comments were “very significant” when asked by Bash about their significance.
“Nancy Pelosi is a very deliberate person. She says what she wants to say,” he said. “She never says what she doesn’t want to say. She said that for a reason.”
On Monday, Biden sent a letter to congressional Democrats, bluntly rejecting the calls for him to step aside. He said the conversation about a new candidate needs to end and it’s “time to come together.”
Since then, several Democrats have urged the president to reconsider.
Axelrod argued that Pelosi’s comments were in response to Biden’s letter.
“And what she’s saying, delicately and respectfully, is no, really the conversation isn’t over, and we still need to have this discussion,” Axelrod said.
The strategist said members of Congress are weighing their options and are not only worried about former President Trump securing a second term but also losing House and Senate seats if Biden stays.
“So, I think the leaders are trying to be respectful and supportive of the president and leave the decision to him, but I think they’re going to want to make sure that he makes that decision based on real information,” Axelrod said. “And the real information is not encouraging.”
