Pelosi and Obama add to doubts over Biden

President Joe Biden fist bumps former President Barack Obama after Biden signed an executive order aimed at strengthening the Affordable Care Act with Nancy Pelosi by their side

Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president, has told allies he thinks the president's "path to victory has greatly diminished"

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

published 19 July 2024

What happened

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former President Barack Obama have both raised serious concerns that President Joe Biden will not be able to defeat Donald Trump in the coming election, insiders claim. In recent conversations with Biden and his allies, the Democratic powerhouses reportedly said the president should reconsider his reelection campaign.

Pelosi told Biden directly that she was "pessimistic about his chances" of an electoral victory, said The New York Times. Sources said the speaker emerita, regarded as one of the Democrats' most savvy political operators, pointed to polling that suggests Biden could not win. A Pelosi spokesperson told CNN that the press "feeding frenzy" based on unnamed sources "misrepresents many conversations" that the former speaker "may have had with the president."

Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president, has also told allies that the president's "path to victory has greatly diminished" and that he should "seriously consider the viability of his campaign," The Washington Post said. A spokesperson for Obama declined to comment.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.