Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bluntly told President Joe Biden he has no chance of beating former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election. CNN reports that four sources briefed on the phone call between Pelosi and Biden unearthed how the former speaker told the president that polling shows he cannot defeat Donald Trump and that Biden could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he continues seeking a second term.
One source said Biden responded with pushback, telling Pelosi he has seen polls that indicate he can win. Another one of the sources described Biden as getting defensive about the polls. At one point, Pelosi asked Mike Donilon, Biden’s longtime adviser, to get on the line to talk over the data.
CNN adds that none of the sources indicated whether Pelosi told Biden in this conversation that she believes the president should drop out of the 2024 race. Last week Pelosi stated in an interview: “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.”
While the exact date of the conversation was not clear, one source described it as being within the last week. Pelosi and Biden also spoke in early July. When asked for comment, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates did not respond to the details of CNN’s reporting on the recent Pelosi-Biden call:
“President Biden is the nominee of the party. He plans to win and looks forward to working with congressional Democrats to pass his 100 days agenda to help working families,” Bates said.
A Pelosi spokesperson told CNN that the former House speaker has been in California since Friday and she has not spoken to Biden since.
