WASHINGTON (AP) — Nancy Pelosi’s influence is everywhere in the Democratic Party setup, which in a few short, painful weeks has reimagined the 2024 presidential ticket and the race for the White House.
Pelosi publicly encouraged President Joe Biden to make a decision about his re-election campaign after he had already insisted he had no plans to step aside. When she came out and endorsed Kamala Harris on the ticket, Pelosi was a big fan of her running mate, Tim Walz.
For the House speaker, the upheaval is less about Biden, a friend of 40 years, and more about Republican Donald Trump, the former president he calls “Bozo,” a “snake oil salesman,” “what’s his name” and “Creature of the Black Lagoon.”
“How can I say this in the nicest way possible: My goal in life was to never have a man step into the White House again,” Pelosi said, pounding the table with every word.
Pelosi spoke to reporters and columnists on Wednesday about her new book, “The Art of Power, My Story as America’s First Woman Speaker of the House,” which calls for an end to political violence in the United States. But this is the last unwritten chapter in Pelosi’s career. which shows the soft power he still wields that can change the course of history.
Pelosi has repeatedly refused to detail her conversations with Biden during that tumultuous period, or whether they took place at all. They haven’t spoken since he bowed out of the competition.
“At some point, I will come to terms with my own, at peace, with my own role in this,” he said.
“I think part of all of our goals here was to preserve his legacy, a wonderful legacy that would go down the drain if Bozo was elected to the White House.”
However, some details have emerged as Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries all held private conversations with Biden as he made his historic decision to end his campaign.
Pelosi said she had no intention of putting Biden on the spot when she appeared on her favorite morning news show in early July after his dark exchange with Trump and suggested she was making a decision about her re-election bid.
Biden had just written a letter to Congress insisting he was seeking to continue after several high-ranking Democrats began saying publicly that he should bow out of the race. It was not well received, he said.
In addition to the White House, control of Congress is at stake this November. Pelosi had heard from concerned lawmakers, and she herself did not see Biden’s “path to victory.”
“I was really asking for a better campaign,” he said.
But he admitted of his future options, “I think it was open.”
Pelosi had told Biden early on that she did not want him on the debate stage with Trump. He thought he was at a disadvantage with Trump because he had refused to discuss his own Republican colleagues in his bid for the GOP nomination. And he knew Trump would use the venue to “put out all his lies” unchecked.
“I just thought it would be like doggy-doo and you get it on your shoes and you all smell like him,” she said.
But he said Biden was very confident and assured him he could handle Trump on stage. “I know you can handle it,” he told her. “But why?”
On the night of the debate, Pelosi settled into her apartment in Washington to watch, and as soon as Biden walked on stage, it was unsettling, she said.
“I was shocked.”
Pelosi said she had never seen Biden like that.
Pelosi explained her longtime advice for the debate: Clear your mind. Don’t get bogged down in details. Rest. Be yourself.
Whatever the question, “you answer however you want. You own it.”
It was clear that none of that happened with Biden.
“He’s the president of the United States, a person who has for decades understood a vision of our country based on values, knowledge, issues, and therefore judgment on everything, and more empathy in his heart than anyone else,” he said. “Who must prepare him?”
Pelosi said publicly at the time that she wanted to know, was this episode with Biden or an illness?
He made it clear that he wanted a more aggressive campaign “so people can see his power.”
He said that simply retracing past accomplishments, as Biden did, is important to show voters that you can achieve goals. But elections are about what you do next.
“Elections are about the future,” he said. “Finish the job.”
None of this rematch with Trump would have been possible if the Senate had voted to convict him rather than acquit him of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, which would have made him eligible for impeachment. To the White House again. Pelosi blames the result on the Senate Republican leadership and considers it shameful.
As crowds gather this week in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan for the new Harris-Walz ticket, Pelosi marvels at the energy and enthusiasm pouring into Democrats, especially from young people.
Pelosi said she thought any of the potential vice presidential nominees would have been excellent choices. But he has made no secret of his enthusiasm for former members of the House — which Walz is — to oppose the way he believes White House administrations are generally more deferential to the Senate.
As some calculated which vice presidential candidate would best help Democrats in swing states, Pelosi said the question for Harris was: Who will help you govern? He said he didn’t have a good word for Walz, but a good word for all the contestants.
Asked if Democrats would gain control of the House, he said: “That’s the plan.”
Asked if the title of his book was an intended nod to Trump’s “The Art of the Deal,” he said, “Nothing I do has anything to do with him, except his downfall.”
