Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) reflected on the possibility that Democrats could have secured the presidency if President Biden had stepped aside earlier, suggesting that the outcome “might have been different.”
In an interview with The New York Times, Pelosi remarked that if Biden had withdrawn sooner, other candidates could have entered the race. “The expectation was that an open primary would follow if the president stepped aside,” she explained.
Pelosi further speculated that Vice President Kamala Harris could have performed well in such a primary, potentially strengthening her candidacy going forward.
Former Speaker Pelosi discusses Biden’s endorsement effect on primary dynamics
However, she acknowledged the uncertainty of that scenario, noting that it never occurred and the party must live with the reality of what happened. During a conversation with LuLu Garcia-Navarro on The Interview, a New York Times podcast, she said, “We don’t know that. That didn’t happen.”
The former Democratic leader emphasized that Biden’s early endorsement of Harris made it difficult for the party to consider other viable contenders. “His endorsement made it nearly impossible to have a primary at that point,” Pelosi noted, adding that an earlier decision would have changed the dynamics.
Throughout the discussion, Pelosi, who had just been reelected, dissected the party’s failure in the election cycle. She dismissed the idea that the loss stemmed from Democrats’ failure to connect with working-class voters. “Bernie Sanders has not won,” she said, showing respect for Sanders while disagreeing with his assertion that the Democratic Party had abandoned working-class families.
Instead, she pointed to three major issues she believes alienated voters: guns, LGBTQ+ rights, and the abortion debate. “Guns, gays, and now the trans issue,” she concluded, noting that these topics became central to voters’ concerns in key communities.
