Pelosi suggests Biden should rethink decision to stay in race

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday implied that President Biden should reconsider his call to stay in the presidential race, but the California Democrat said she’ll support whatever he decides.

Ms. Pelosi gave a curious answer when asked on MSNBC if Mr. Biden has her support to head the Democratic ticket.

“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” she said. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short.”

Told Mr. Biden already made the decision, saying firmly this week that he’s running, Ms. Pelosi still declined to say whether she wants him to remain in the race.

“I want him to do whatever he decides to do,” she said. “And that’s the way it is; whatever he decides we go with.”

Mr. Biden sent a letter to congressional Democrats on Monday saying he is “firmly committed” to remaining in the race and telling them to put an end to questions about how the party advances.

“Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us,” the president wrote. “It’s time to come together, move forward as a unified party and defeat Donald Trump.”

Ms. Pelosi’s comments questioning that decision — while not going nearly as far as other Democrats who have called for Mr. Biden to step aside or predicted he will lose to Mr. Trump — are notable, given her revered role as a top party leader.

Political pundits often mention Ms. Pelosi on a short list of Democrats who could have enough sway to convince Mr. Biden to drop out of the race. Her remarks are likely to be interpreted as a subtle way of prodding him toward that decision.

As that narrative gained steam Wednesday, Ms. Pelosi told CBS News that “there are some misrepresentations of what I have said.”

“I never said he should reconsider his decision,” she said. “The decision is the president’s.”

Yet, Ms. Pelosi declined to answer CBS News’ question about whether she thinks Mr. Biden is the best candidate to defeat Mr. Trump, asking the reporter camped outside her office, “Why would you think that I would have that interview here?”

“I think the president is great,” she said.

Ms. Pelosi was also complimentary of Mr. Biden in the MSNBC interview. She began by touting his “spectacular” speech Tuesday at the NATO summit, which she attended.

“He was received over and over again with ovations for what he had to say and the force with which he said it,” she said. “It was a beautifully received, energetic presentation by the president.”

Then she launched into the political question of Mr. Biden’s future and noted that the Democratic Party is “not lockstep.”

“People have their interest in terms of their own region and the rest,” she said.

Ms. Pelosi suggested Democrats withhold their public opinions on what he should do until after the NATO conference he’s hosting in Washington ends Thursday.

“I think it’s really important and I would hope everyone would join in to let him deal with this NATO conference. This is a very big deal,” she said. “And I’ve said to everyone, ’Let’s just hold off, whatever you’re thinking. Either tell somebody privately, but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week.”