It has come to light that the Democrats don’t believe former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) rejections that her appearance on Morning Joe Wednesday was meant to help nudge Joe Biden out of the presidential race via Mediaite.
During an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Lemire, Pelosi urged Biden to decide whether to drop out or stay in the race soon, even after Lemire reminded her that he says he has already decided on the latter option.
Pelosi since insisted that she didn’t mean her comments to be taken as a vote of no confidence, arguing that “there are some misrepresentations of what I have said.”
However, Democrats have stated that there was no other way to take it, according to a trio of Semafor reporters, who wrote that “the comments came at a crucial moment in Congress, where Biden has struggled to fully stamp out public discontent over his nomination despite insisting in a letter on Monday that his decision to run was final and railing on MSNBC against ‘elites’ who said otherwise.”
“The former speaker’s appearance was a clear shot in the arm for those skeptics amid calls from pro-Biden Democrats to unite behind him immediately or risk damaging the eventual nominee. It also appeared designed for maximum visibility with the president himself,” they continued.
A “senior Democratic aide” told Semafor that Pelosi knew what she was doing, noting that “Morning Joe is the President’s favorite show. She knows he’s watching. She’s not an idiot. She chose those words carefully.”
Other aides said they interpreted Pelosi’s words similarly.
“I don’t think it moves members, but I think it compromises the goal to solidify support for Biden/move forward,” explained one.
“She seemed to cast more doubt than members yesterday,” said another. “I don’t think this is what they want … seemed like the page was starting to turn and this will complicate it.”
