Nancy Pelosi, who will be among those to address the convention on day three, has been speaking at a pre-event at the University Club of Chicago.
She’s been asked about her fateful conversation with President Joe Biden in which she expressed her concerns about Democrats losing the White House this November.
She initially attempted to avoid saying much when asked what she told the president before he exited the 2024 race and backed Vice President Kamala Harris.
Pelosi insisted the decision was Biden’s but when pressed, the 84-year-old former speaker said she needed to do what was necessary to stop Donald Trump from returning to the White House.
Nancy Pelosi will speak today.Credit: AP
“I wanted very much to protect his legacy,” Pelosi said of the president. “So my point was only: We need a better campaign.”
Pelosi isn’t taking explicit credit for pushing Biden to end his reelection bid and make way for Harris, a move that has transformed the presidential campaign and given Democrats new hope of beating Trump. But when she takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Pelosi will address a crowd far more enthusiastic than it might have otherwise been, due in part to her.
Many Democrats who were reluctant to campaign with Biden this fall are enthusiastic supporters of Harris — and Pelosi.
“Speaker Pelosi is always someone who reflects the interests of the caucus,” Democrat congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, the party’s nominee in a critical Senate race, said before Pelosi’s speech.
“Her going to President Biden and having those hard conversations, she’s reflecting a much louder chorus that was going on in the elected leaders across the Democratic caucus.”
with AP
Source Agencies
