As Democrats’ concerns about President Joe Biden’s chances of winning in November are in overdrive, influential officials in the party have reportedly told him he will not win.
On Wednesday, CNN reported former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) “privately told President Joe Biden in a recent conversation that polling shows that the president cannot defeat Donald Trump and that Biden could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he continues seeking a second term, according to four sources briefed on the call.”
“The president responded by pushing back, telling Pelosi he has seen polls that indicate he can win, one source said. 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,” the article continued.
Still, the outlet reported that sources familiar with the call did not say whether Pelosi told Biden she believes he should drop out.
The reported call comes after Pelosi seemed to revive the push to oust Biden earlier this month when she told MSNBC that Biden has to “decide if he is going to run,” despite him saying he is committing to doing so.
In a statement to CNN, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said, “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.”
Meanwhile, a Pelosi spokesperson said she had not spoken to Biden since Friday.
Also on Wednesday, ABC News reported Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) met with Biden and made “the case it would be best if Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.”
A spokesperson for Schumer told the network, “Unless ABC’s source is Chuck Schumer or President Joe Biden the reporting is idle speculation. Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday.”
