Representative Nancy Pelosi forewarned her fellow Democrats and the reelection campaign of President Joe Biden on Tuesday that “time is running short” for him to determine whether or not to withdraw from the race. However, she refrained from directly urging him to make that decision.
Pelosi was questioned about an op-ed attributed to her on the far-left MSNBC program “Morning Joe” when she was there. This comes as more and more Democrats are calling for Biden to withdraw from the race after a dismal debate performance against former President Donald Trump late last month.
“So, Madam Speaker, you just went through the president’s record, but let me ask you about the current moment. Does he have your support to be the head of the Democrats?” co-host Jonathan Lemire asked.
“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. I think overwhelming support of the caucus — it’s not for me to say, I’m not the head of the caucus anymore — but he’s beloved, he is respected, and people want him to make that decision,” she said.
“He has said he has made the decision. He has said firmly this week he is going to run. Do you want him to run?” he asked.
“I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with,” she said. “I think it’s really important and I would hope everyone would join in.
“Let him deal with this NATO conference. This is a very big deal. Thirty heads of — over 30 heads of state are here. He is the host of it, and that means not just hosting, it means orchestrating the discussion and setting the agenda,” Pelosi continued. “And he’s doing so magnificently. And I’ve said to everyone, let’s just hold off whatever you’re thinking. Either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week. But I’m very proud of the president.”
As Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has made clear on many occasions, she has often been to Biden’s left on several issues throughout his presidency. But when it comes to supporting calls for him to end his reelection bid, she’s not on board with that.
Speaking to reporters on Monday evening, Bronx-born Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez carefully addressed recent concerns regarding President Biden’s health and mental sharpness. She affirmed her support for him as the party’s nominee, mentioning that she had spoken with the president over the weekend.
“I have spoken with him extensively. He made clear then and he has made clear since that he is in this race. The matter is closed. He had reiterated that this morning. He has reiterated that to the public. Joe Biden is our nominee. He is not leaving this race. He is our nominee, and I support him,” she said forcefully before attempting to turn the tables on former President Donald Trump.
“What I think is critically important right now is that we focus on what it takes to win in November, because he is running against Donald Trump, who is a man with 34 felony convictions that has committed 34 felony crimes, and not a single Republican has asked for Donald Trump to not be the nominee,” she said.
“I’m here to win on this democracy, I’m here to win in November, and what’s critically important is what I believe the president needs to do… in order to make sure that we win in November… that is making sure that we pivot and working and increasingly commit to the issues that are critically important to working people across this country,” she went on.
