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Two of the Democratic Party’s most influential figures have privately expressed their concerns that President Joe Biden cannot win against Donald Trump.
CNN reported on Friday that former President Barack Obamaa and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been holding conversations behind the scenes, and fielding concerns from party members and lawmakers about the Biden’s unraveling position at the top of the ticket.
On Wednesday, Pelosi appeared on MSNBC and left the door open when asked about Biden’s potential exit from the race. “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” the former Speaker said. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short.”
Off-camera, Pelosi has been counseling House members on how to approach the Biden debacle. “I think at this moment, if Biden ends up stepping down as the nominee, she will prove to be the most important Democratic leader,” one House Democrat told CNN. “She’s the one in a situation like this, especially generationally, who has the credibility to weigh in on something that is so sensitive and important.”
Obama, on the other hand, has remained extremely guarded in private conversations with lawmakers and other concerned Democrats. According to CNN, the former president is attempting to operate as a sounding board and impartial adviser — neither endorsing or rebuffing calls for Biden’s exit from the race. Sources told CNN that his caution stems largely from fears that any explicit position he takes would quickly leak — and carry significant weight.
And there have been leaks. According to a Thursday report from Politico, before publishing his unvarnished op-ed in The New York Times calling on Biden to step down from the nomination, actor George Clooney reached out to Obama to give him notice about the article. Two sources told Politico that Obama neither encouraged nor attempted to dissuade Clooney from publishing.
The role Pelosi and Obama are taking behind the scenes remains amorphous, and Democrats have yet to come to a consensus on what to do about the aging president — but something might be in the works.
“The Super Friends are assembling,” on Democratic lawmaker told Politico on Friday. “There’s a group of people who are going to go make their case to whomever they can get to at the White House that he needs to step aside and we’re going to get our asses kicked if he doesn’t.”
According to the anonymous lawmaker, Pelosi would be one of the “ideal world” candidates to participate in this reality check with Biden, but as the clock ticks toward the Democratic National Convention in August, time is running short.
