Pelosi Comments On Biden Following Trump Win
In a striking interview with The New York Times, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) laid significant blame on President Joe Biden for Vice President Kamala Harris’s overwhelming loss to President-elect Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Reflecting on the Democratic Party’s struggles, Pelosi contended that Biden’s delayed decision to exit the race prevented a broader, more competitive primary—one that could have given Harris the platform to prove her strength as a candidate.
“Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi explained. She argued that an earlier exit by Biden would likely have opened the door to an “open primary,” allowing Harris to better establish her position and galvanize support among Democrats. Pelosi speculated that such a scenario could have made Harris a stronger contender heading into the general election, but ultimately, she noted, “that didn’t happen. We live with what happened.”
The interview also highlighted a contradiction in Pelosi’s statements from earlier in the campaign. In September, she described the primary as both fair and open, declaring, “We had an open primary and [Kamala Harris] won it. Nobody else got in the race.”
Yet her latest remarks reflect a more complicated view, suggesting that Biden’s late endorsement of Harris effectively closed the field and left Democrats without the vigorous primary competition Pelosi now believes could have benefited Harris.
"We had an open primary and [Kamala Harris] won it. Nobody else got in the race," @SpeakerPelosi tells @kadiagoba. pic.twitter.com/y2O0JhKBgc
— Semafor (@semafor) September 18, 2024
Pelosi’s reflections are part of a broader conversation about the party’s approach in 2024. Addressing criticism from progressive Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Pelosi pushed back on his claim that Democrats have abandoned working-class families in favor of identity-based issues. Sanders has argued that the Democrats’ focus on issues like gender and race comes at the expense of addressing core economic concerns—an approach he believes cost them crucial support in the latest election.
Pelosi, however, rejected this notion outright, saying, “Bernie Sanders has not won. With all due respect, and I have a great deal of respect for him, for what he stands for, but I don’t respect him saying that the Democratic Party has abandoned the working-class families.”
The conversation soon turned to the divisive cultural issues that Pelosi says have long been used as political leverage by the right. “Guns, God and gays—that’s the way they say it,” she continued, alluding to how Republicans have historically mobilized support by emphasizing these topics.
She then acknowledged that new challenges, such as debates surrounding transgender rights, have further polarized the electorate, adding, “now they’re making the trans issue such an important issue in their priorities; and in certain communities, what they call God, what we call a woman’s right to choose.”
Pelosi’s remarks bring into focus the underlying challenges for the Democratic Party as it seeks to realign itself in the wake of 2024’s electoral defeat. On one hand, there is a clear demand for a stronger emphasis on economic issues, a sentiment voiced by Sanders and echoed by many within the Democratic base.
On the other, Pelosi’s statements suggest an ongoing tension between the party’s dedication to progressive social causes and the need to address the bread-and-butter issues that affect a broader swath of the American electorate.