Nancy Pelosi Sure Doesn’t Seem Enthusiastic About Biden’s Candidacy

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi danced around questions of whether she continues to support President Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic nominee during a Wednesday interview with MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

Pelosi was asked if Biden continues to have her support as the head of the Democratic ticket, but she didn’t really say.

“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” the former House Speaker responded. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short.”

“He’s beloved. He is respected, and people want him to make that decision, not me,” Pelosi added.

Host Jonathan Lemire pressed the question, pointing out that Biden has been resolute in his refusal to abandon his campaign. “Do you want him to run,” he asked Pelosi.

“I want him to do whatever he decides to do,” she countered. “And that’s the way it is, whatever he decides we go with.”

The dodge from Pelosi comes after members of the Democratic House Caucus gathered on Tuesday for a closed-door meeting to discuss the fallout of Biden’s disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump.

Lawmakers who attended the meeting painted a grim picture of a divided caucus with no clear path forward. “We’re not even in the same book,” much less the same page, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) told reporters gathered outside the headquarters of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), where the meeting was held.

Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) told Rolling Stone on his walk back to the Capitol that “there’s certainly more that needs to happen,” to reassure lawmakers that the president is fit to continue his run for office. “Not just for the people in the room, but for the campaign.”

So far, seven House democrats have openly called for Biden to step down as the party’s nominee. These include Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), and Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.).

Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) told CNN that in his view “Donald Trump is on track, I think, to win this election and maybe win it by a landslide and take with him the Senate and the House.”

“For me, this isn’t a question about polling, it’s not a question of politics. It’s a moral question about the future of our country,” he added. “I think it’s critically important for us to come to grips with what we face if, together, we put this country on the path of electing Donald Trump again.”

But for all the concerns raised by members of his own party, the president has dug into his position. In his own Monday interview on Morning Joe, President Biden dared his critics to make a move against him at the Democratic convention.

“Run against me. Go ahead, announce for president. Challenge me at the convention,” he said. “The bottom line here is that we’re not going anywhere. I am not going anywhere.”

More from Rolling Stone

• Carole King Supports Joe Biden. Does Anyone Else in Music?

• Obama and Pelosi Are Counseling Anxious Dems on Biden Debacle: Report 

• Biden Starts Presser With Gaffe, Ends With Vow to Stay in Race - Unless ...

Best of Rolling Stone

• The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign

• Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal

• The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence