Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) privately told President Joe Biden last week that she fears his reelection campaign will hurt the Democratic Party as a whole in November.
"The speaker does not want to call on him to resign, but she will do everything in her power to make sure it happens," a person close to Pelosi told Politico, referring to Biden’s campaign.
Biden’s adamance to stay in the race has faded in recent weeks, as he went from constantly reiterating that he was 100 percent staying in the race to recently expressing he would suspend his campaign if doctors diagnosed him with a "medical condition"; he has since come down with COVID-19. According to several top Democrats, Biden may drop out of the presidential race as soon as this weekend, Axios reported.
During their conversation, Pelosi told Biden that national polls show that he cannot beat Republican nominee Donald Trump and that Biden could decimate Democrats’ chances of taking back the House if he continues his reelection efforts, CNN reported.
"There’s nothing subtle about Nancy," a second Pelosi ally told Politico. "She starts with the question: ‘What’s it take to win?’ Then works backwards."
Other party leaders, such as Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y), Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), and Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.), reportedly called on the octogenarian president to exit the race. During a July 11 news conference, Biden admitted that he would suspend his campaign if polling data proved "there’s no way you can win."
A poll released Monday revealed that Trump is leading the incumbent across all seven anticipated swing states in the 2024 presidential election. A separate poll released Wednesday showed that nearly two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee.
Unlike many congressional Democrats, Pelosi has yet to come out against Biden’s reelection campaign publicly. The former speaker dodged questions about the issue earlier this month, saying the octogenarian commander in chief still needs to make his decision, adding that she wants "him to do whatever he decides to do … whatever he decides we go with."
The Democratic National Committee, whose delegates will vote for the party’s presidential nominee virtually, told members that voting will not start until after Aug. 1, giving Biden at least two more weeks to drop out of the race, CBS reported.