US President Joe Biden (R) and former President Donald Trump faced each other in a historic debate in June.
Former US President Barack Obama has also apparently informed allies that Joe Biden’s chances of victory have significantly diminished.
Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, privately informed US President Joe Biden in a recent conversation that polling data indicates he cannot defeat Donald Trump and his pursuit of a second term could jeopardise Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November. The revelation came from four sources briefed on the call, as per a report in CNN.com.
In response, President Biden pushed back, asserting that he has seen polls suggesting he can win, according to one source. Another source described Biden as becoming defensive about the polling data. Pelosi also asked Mike Donilon, Biden’s longtime adviser, to join the call to discuss the data further.
This phone call marks the second known conversation between Pelosi and Biden since the president’s debate on June 27. While the exact date of the conversation is unclear, one source noted it occurred within the last week. Pelosi and Biden also reportedly had a discussion in early July.
None of the sources confirmed whether Pelosi explicitly told Biden during this conversation that she believes he should withdraw from the 2024 race.
In a recent interview, Pelosi commented, “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.”
When asked for comment, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates did not address the specifics 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 spokesperson for Pelosi told CNN that the former House speaker has been in California since Friday and has not spoken to Biden since.
“Speaker Pelosi respects the confidentiality of her meetings and conversations with the president of the United States,” the spokesperson said. “Sadly, the feeding frenzy from the press based on anonymous sources misrepresents any conversations the speaker may have had with the president.”
Meanwhile, Former US President Barack Obama has apparently informed allies that Joe Biden’s chances of victory have significantly diminished. He believes the US president should seriously reassess the viability of his candidacy, according to a report by the Washington Post on Thursday, which cites multiple individuals briefed on Obama’s thoughts.
(With inputs from CNN)
