Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday urged Democrats to give President Biden more time and space to decide whether to stay in the 2024 White House race, a statement that could be seen as nudging him to reconsider.
Heaping praise on Biden as “beloved,” Pelosi suggested fellow Democrats refrain from discussing Biden’s political future until the end of this week’s pivotal NATO summit that the president is leading.
“We’re all encouraging him to to make that decision because time is running short,” Pelosi told Jonathan Lemire of NBC News on the Morning Joe program.
“I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that’s the way it is,” she added. “Whatever he decides we go with.”
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-New York), who represents a Hudson Valley swing district, called on Biden to quit the race to save the nation from former President Donald Trump.
“For the good of our country, for my two young kids, I’m asking Joe Biden to step aside,” Ryan told the New York Times.
Biden has insisted he’s not even considering stepping aside after his shaky debate performance raised questions about his ability to beat Trump.
He wrote a letter to Congress this week saying he had decided to stay in the race and plans to accept the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in mid-August.
Given Biden’s firm stance, most prominent Democratic lawmakers have simply said they support his decision.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he backs Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer repeated three times that “I’m with Joe” on Tuesday as Congress returned from a break.
Pelosi’s remarks have raised some eyebrows because they suggest she doesn’t consider Biden’s decision to stay in the race as settled.
A handful of Democratic lawmakers have openly called on Biden to step aside, as have some public figures on the left.
Actor George Clooney, a long-time Democrat who met with Biden at a recent Hollywood fundraiser, joined the calls for Biden to quit the race in a New York Times opinion piece on Wednesday.
Others have vociferously backed Biden and called for an end to the debate over his future.
Trump has hinted that he hopes Biden stays in the race.
“I hope that he can carry it on,” Trump said Wednesday on Fox News Radio. “I just assume. We planned for him.”
Polls say Trump is the frontrunner, especially after the debate. But some analysts warn that it’s way too early to pencil him in to return to power, even if Biden stays in the race.
“With some breaks, Biden can win,” said Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist. “People say Biden can’t win. No one knows that.”
