President Joe Biden called former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Wednesday – almost a full week after his disastrous debate performance with Donald Trump – to preserve the Democratic icon’s wavering support as the president bleeds support from elected officials in his own party.
Biden’s call, reported by the Washington Post, comes one day after Pelosi told MSNBC “I think it’s a legitimate question to say, is this an episode or is this a condition?” in reference to his historically poor debate performance.
Pelosi and Biden spoke today, per person familiar with call
— Tyler Pager (@tylerpager) July 3, 2024
In the days since the debate, Pelosi has notably refused to specifically endorse the president, choosing instead either to highlight Biden’s record signing laws passed during his first two years when Pelosi was Speaker or attacking Trump as even worse.
Biden has been criticized by Democrat elected officials and media for using the days after the debate to huddle with advisors and family, including his son Hunter, instead of performing necessary damage control as criticism amplified and buzzards circled his dying campaign.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) was the first Congressional Democrat to officially jump ship, announcing on Tuesday his request for Biden to abandon his quest for reelection.
“Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory – too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now,” he said in a statement.
He continued, “I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson. Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same.”
Doggett later said he had contacted the White House requesting to speak with Biden before making the announcement, but was rebuffed.
The dam was broken.
Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) wrote an op-ed published later Tuesday with even harsher words for Biden.
Writing that “Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not a surprise,” Golden claimed he has known for months Trump would win. “While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”
The New York Times, which has maintained a frosty and at times combative relationship with Biden and his administration since his 2020 campaign severely limited access to media, published a report Wednesday that Biden was considering dropping out.
A White House spokesman claimed the leak was “absolutely false.” And Biden told campaign aides on a Wednesday call he would not be pushed out.
Yet the aftermath of Biden’s debate debacle, during which he was unwilling or unable to conduct basic damage control with key allies on Capitol Hill for almost a week, has gotten worse with each passing day for the president. And it may be too late for Biden to pull his campaign back off the edge.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
