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Weeks of Democratic infighting leading up to President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race have left some emotional scars between the president and some party leaders, according to a new report.
Those close to Biden told POLITICO that the president is slightly resentful that his friend and ally, former president Barack Obama, did not tell him to leave the race despite allegedly privately raising concerns that he could not defeat Donald Trump in November.
Biden will not stay on to hear Obama’s speech on Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago after the president delivers his own address on Monday night, according to POLITICO.
Biden allegedly is also displeased about the role that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer played in trying to pressure him to drop out. But the president is reportedly mostly frustrated with former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Though Pelosi initially expressed public support for Biden, after his disastrous presidential debate performance she gradually changed her tune. In interviews with MSNBC during the contentious weeks, Pelosi began to subtly hint that her confidence in Biden’s abilities was wavering.
Behind the scenes, Pelosi was reportedly helping orchestrate the widely shared belief among Democrats that Biden should not run against Trump.
As a senior member of the Democratic Party, and who is largely credited with standing up to Trump during his administration, Pelosi’s opinion is widely respected among members of her party.
Biden felt Pelosi took on a “ruthless” role, willing to set aside their long-standing relationship in order to secure the Democratic Party’s power in the presidential race, a senior White House official told POLITICO.
Biden has apparently not spoken with Pelosi since he announced he was dropping out and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Breadcrumbs of the two’s strained relationship can be seen in a trail of comments both politicians have made in interviews.
Last week, Pelosi told The New Yorker that she did not see a path to victory for Biden after his debate performance and feared his campaign operation wasn’t strong enough, saying she has “never been impressed” by it.
When asked if she was worried about the impact the situation had on her friendship with the president, Pelosi said, “I lose sleep on it, yeah.”
In another interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Pelosi refuted the claim that she orchestrated the pressure campaign to oust Biden. She told the news outlet she “did not call one person” and had faith Biden would make the correct decision for the country.
When asked if rumors that Biden was “furious” with her were true, Pelosi responded that, “[Biden] knows that I love him very much.”
In a separate interview that Biden did with CBS News, the president said he dropped out of the race in part because of his colleagues’ fears that his poor polling would reflect on their own state and local races.
“I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic. You’d be interviewing me about ‘Why did Nancy Pelosi say…’ ‘Why did so-and-so…’ And I thought it’d be a real distraction,” the president said.
The Independent has asked the White House and Pelosi’s office for comment on the allegations.
