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Election 2024
The Associated Press
Updated:

Pelosi says 'it's up to the president' to decide to stay in the race

Nancy Pelosi
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the speaker emerita, left, arrives at the Democratic National Headquarters with other Democratic members of the House of Representatives to discuss the future of President Biden running for the presidency, Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
John McDonnell | AP

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Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday “it's up to the president to decide” if he should stay in the race despite President Joe Biden's insistence he is still running, showing how unsettled the question remains among prominent Democrats and Capitol Hill.

“We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,” Pelosi said Wednesday on MSNBC.

Late in the evening, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch called on Biden to withdraw from the election, becoming the first Senate Democrat to do so. Welch said he is worried because “the stakes could not be higher.”

Pelosi has been widely watched for signals of how top Democrats are thinking about Biden’s imperiled candidacy, and her comments will be viewed as important for the party’s direction as they weigh possible alternatives in the campaign against Republican Donald Trump.

Because of her powerful position as the former House speaker and proximity to Biden as a trusted longtime ally of his generation, Pelosi is seen as one of the few Democratic leaders who could have influence on the president’s thinking.

Pressed on whether she personally wants Biden to stay on the top of the ticket as he has defiantly insisted he is staying in the race, Pelosi said, “I want him to do whatever he decides to do.”

The lack of a full endorsement from Pelosi for Biden’s continued campaign is what lawmakers are likely to hear most, suggesting that despite the president's insistence he is not stepping aside, his party still has questions.

Actor George Clooney asks president to leave race

Pelosi said Biden “has been a great president” who is beloved and respected by House Democrats.

The Californian said she watched as he delivered a forceful speech at the NATO summit on Tuesday, and while foreign leaders are in Washington this week she encouraged Democrats “let’s just hold off” with any announcements about his campaign.

“Whatever you’re thinking, either tell somebody privately but you don’t have to put that out on the table until we see,” she said, how it goes “this week.”

Democrats have been reeling over the question of whether to continue backing Biden after his poor showing in the presidential debate with Trump last month and his campaign’s lackluster response to their pleas that Biden show voters he is up for another four-year term.