Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took an apparent swipe at President Joe Biden by barely mentioning him during a Democratic fundraiser in North Carolina on Saturday.
Pelosi avoided mention of Biden’s future as the party’s nominee during remarks before about 900 people at the Democratic Party fundraiser billed as the “Unity” dinner in Raleigh, The Associated Press reported.
The president is isolating at his home in Delaware as he battles a COVID-19 infection, but the pressure for him to withdraw from the 2024 race is continuing to mount after his dismal performance in a June 27 debate raised concerns about the 81-year-old’s age and ability to beat former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, in November.
The California congresswoman spent most of her remarks speaking about battles over budget and policy in the House, the AP reported, and warning about the dangers of a second Trump administration. When Biden was mentioned, it was primarily to tout his administration’s policies.
Biden is “seething” at some Democratic figures after those calls, angry that they are not rallying behind him, CNN‘s Kaitlan Collins reported on Friday.
“A slew of House Democrats have joined two more prominent Democratic senators tonight in calling for Biden to step aside,” Collins said on her show. “All of it, we are told, has President Biden seething tonight with much of his anger directed at Nancy Pelosi. That’s because some of the names that are calling for him to drop out of the race are her close allies.”
At the end of her speech, Pelosi discussed the party’s plans for the months leading up to November’s election, but focused on efforts to mobilize voters rather than the person they should rally behind.
“Are you ready for a Democratic president?” Pelosi asked. “I thought so.”
While touting the party’s accomplishments, she also said that what comes next was very important for the country.
“This is about what comes next, and what comes next is very important for our country,” she said.
.@JoeBiden and Democrats delivered 15.7 million jobs (443,000 in North Carolina alone!) along with transformative investments in climate action, infrastructure and a clean energy future — and with BidenHarris and Congressional Democrats working For The People, WE’RE NOT DONE YET! pic.twitter.com/A9ERX7NvqG
— Nancy Pelosi (@TeamPelosi) July 21, 2024
Newsweek has contacted Pelosi’s office and the Biden campaign for comment via email.
It comes as Democrats remain deeply divided about the future of Biden’s reelection bid.
Some reports have said the president is open to the idea of bowing out in private discussions, but his campaign has repeatedly said he is committed to remaining in the race.
Pelosi, one of the party’s most influential figures and its most formidable fundraiser, has not publicly called for Biden to withdraw from the race.
However, she has reportedly told Biden in private that polls indicate he cannot win in November and that she is concerned Democrats may not be able to win the House if he does not step aside. A spokesperson for Pelosi later told CNN that the “feeding frenzy from the press based on anonymous sources misrepresents any conversations” she may have had with the president.
Pelosi also recently told colleagues that she would support an open process to choose the party’s next nominee if Biden steps aside, Politico and The New York Times reported earlier this week.
Earlier this week, California Representative Adam Schiff, a protégé of Pelosi who is running for the Senate, became the highest-profile Democrat to call for Biden to step aside. Pelosi’s and Schiff’s offices declined to say whether he sought the former speaker’s input before going public, Politico reported.
Another Pelosi ally from California, Representative Zoe Lofgren, called on Biden to drop out of the race on Friday.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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