By Joe Biden is still smarting after Nancy Pelosi threatened him with removal from the White House if he refused to step down, according to a new report from Politico.
In late July, the former Speaker of the House effectively threatened Joe Biden with the 25th Amendment because down ballot polling had allegedly turned against him. Slate reported the California Democrat told the president that he could either quit the easy way or the hard way.
The situation has left Biden growing increasingly angry about the way he was tossed aside by leaders of the Democratic Party, especially Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi.
President Joe Biden is frustrated that Barack Obama wouldn’t tell him to his face that he should leave the race. He’s angry with Nancy Pelosi and views her as ruthless for ushering him out the door. And he’s still miffed at the role Chuck Schumer played, too.
Biden has told his closest aides and associates that he is coming to terms with his decision to bow out of the presidential race last month, but still harbors some frustration toward the members of his own party he believes pushed him out, according to three people familiar with Biden’s thinking who are not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.
The lingering tension between Democratic leaders underscores the historic tumult that has gripped their party in the last six weeks — contrasting with the unity Democrats hope to present at their convention next week. Biden’s faltering debate performance in late June convinced Pelosi that he could not win and she helped orchestrate an unprecedented mutiny against not only a sitting president of her own party, but also someone who had been a friend for decades.
A senior White House official, also granted anonymity to describe private conversations, said Biden views Pelosi as “ruthless” and willing to set aside long-term relationships in order to keep her party in power — and, most importantly, to prevent Republican nominee Donald Trump from returning to the White House.
“That’s who she has always been,” the person added.
Politico also noted that Biden and Pelosi haven’t spoken since she knifed him and threw him overboard.
Earlier in the week, Biden sat down to do something Kamala Harris has thus far refused to do as a presidential nominee. He sat down for an interview on national television.
In his first interview after stepping down from the 2024 presidential race, Mr. Joe Biden spoke candidly with CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa. He opened up about his groundbreaking decision to end his bid for reelection and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, his remaining priorities as president, and why he believes America—and democracy itself—are at “an inflection point in world history.”
Reflecting on the close race with former President Trump, Mr. Biden shared, “The race between him and Trump was ‘neck and neck’ and ‘would’ve been down to the wire.'” This assessment was echoed by a CBS News poll released on July 18, coinciding with the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, which showed Trump leading by 5 points nationally and by 3 points across key battleground states—within the poll’s margin of error.
As pressure mounted, particularly from Democrats in Congress, Mr. Biden faced increasing calls to withdraw from the race following a disastrous first debate performance. “What happened was, a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was gonna hurt them in the races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic,” he explained, noting that he feared his continued presence in the race would become a “real distraction.”
Mr. Biden revealed that he made this momentous decision in Delaware at his Rehoboth Beach vacation home, while recovering from COVID-19, consulting only a close circle of confidants, including his wife, First Lady Jill Biden.
Last week, Pelosi took a victory lap, celebrating Biden’s demise and telling the Washington Post that she thought the president was running an incompetent campaign.
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