Nancy Pelosi opened her Democratic National Convention speech with a sense of gratitude for President Joe Biden, even after her doubts about his campaign fed into the pressures that led him to end his reelection effort.
“Thank you, Joe,” Pelosi said after going through Biden's legislative achievements.
Then the former House speaker added, “I know that Vice President Harris is ready to take us to new heights.”
It was a moment that sidestepped the challenging conversation that led to Harris becoming the Democratic nominee, a dramatic act that catalyzed a sense of excitement and optimism in the party about its chances against Republican Donald Trump.
Earlier that day, the former House speaker hadn't wanted to detail her fateful conversation with Biden in which she expressed her concerns about Democrats losing the White House this November.
Speaking in the cathedral-like University Club of Chicago, she initially filibustered when asked about what she told Biden before he exited the 2024 race. Pelosi insisted Biden's choice was his own. But when pressed, the California lawmaker said she needed to do what was necessary to stop Trump from returning to the White House.
“I wanted very much to protect his legacy,” Pelosi said of the president. “So my point was only: We need a better campaign.”
California
Pelosi isn't taking explicit credit for pushing Biden to end his reelection bid and make way for Harris, a move that has transformed the presidential campaign and given Democrats new hope of beating Trump. But when she took the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Pelosi addressed a crowd far more enthusiastic than it might have otherwise been, due in part to her.
Many lawmakers who were reluctant to campaign with Biden this fall are enthusiastic supporters of Harris — and her.
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“Speaker Pelosi is always someone who reflects the interests of the caucus,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., the party's nominee in a critical Senate race, said in an interview Wednesday before Pelosi's speech. “Her going to President Biden and having those hard conversations, she's reflecting a much louder chorus that was going on in the elected leaders across the Democratic caucus.”
Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist with clients in California, said Pelosi had “a lot of conversations with donors that matter." He stated the former speaker's influence clearly.
“People who matter in Democratic politics understand that Nancy Pelosi is the most consequential Democrat of the last 50 years," he said. “If you want something done, you go to Nancy Pelosi.”
Pelosi is that rare mix of power broker and peacemaker, a lawmaker who a colleague once joked keeps both chocolates and a baseball bat in her office.
The 84-year-old has outlined a philosophy of toughness, saying that her primary motivator has been trying to help as many as one in five children who live in poverty. She can fluently chat about the Grateful Dead and the Baltimore Ravens football team, the pride of her hometown.
She spoke to Democratic strategist David Axelrod Wednesday about her new book, “The Art of Power.” Her mission after a tumultuous few months, she said, is keeping voters focused on the election at hand and the issues that matter.
“You have to be able to take a punch, you have to be able to throw a punch … for the children,” she said to laughter from the crowd of roughly 350.
The idea from a grandmother that a boxer's instincts are necessary to defend society's most vulnerable spoke about how she views politics. To her, it requires tough empathy that has guided Democrats to make tough votes such as for the Affordable Care Act, which seemed risky at the moment despite its ultimate popularity.
Biden has wanted to make clear that the decision to leave the race was his alone, even if Pelosi had relayed the concerns of lawmakers and Democratic voters, nearly two-thirds of whom wanted him to end his bid after his disastrous debate.
What that decision did to the relationship between two longtime allies is hard to say. Biden told reporters after his valedictory speech to the DNC Monday night that he hasn't spoken to the former speaker.
“No, I haven’t spoken to Nancy at all," Biden told reporters after giving his Monday night convention speech. ”No one influenced my decision. No one knew it was coming."
Yet what Pelosi did do was provide clarity to the president on behalf of the diverse lawmakers that she led until a few years ago, when Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., became the Democratic leader in the House.
Slotkin and other Democrats credit Jeffries as well for how he represents them. But Pelosi remains a figure on her own with a new title, “speaker emerita,” and a belief shared by friends and foes alike that she has unparalleled influence behind the scenes.
Democrats are now betting — as Pelosi has before — that the hardest choices can also be the best ones.
“Do I think that this was one of the hardest decisions I’ve seen any leader make in my lifetime? Absolutely,” Slotkin said. "Do I think it was the right decision? Absolutely. Do I think President Biden will go down in history as one of the most patriotic presidents? Absolutely.”
