CHICAGO — Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has lamented her strained relationship with President Joe Biden after publicly questioning whether he should seek reelection. But she said she does not have any regrets over her part in nudging the president to step aside.
“Why would you ask me that question? You know, I’m a very deliberate person,” Pelosi shot back at a reporter at the Democratic National Convention when asked if she had second thoughts about participating in the recent dramatic realignment of the presidential race.
The Democratic gathering this week in Chicago is meant to celebrate Vice President Kamala Harris’s elevation to the national ticket. But it is also serving as something of a no-apologies tour for the former House speaker, who has been meme-d, lionized, vilified and all things in between for her role in getting Biden to decide not to seek reelection. Since arriving here on Sunday, Pelosi has attended over 20 events where she is often greeted like a hero, hosted over 500 guests at a Tuesday luncheon and stopped to take an innumerable number of selfies.
Some Democrats have even been spotted wearing a pin with Pelosi’s face that says “The Godmother,” referring to the idea she pulled the strings behind the scenes, which Pelosi swats down while also admitting she will do anything to promote Democratic chances of beating former president Donald Trump..
Unsurprisingly, Pelosi has garnered some enemies for her actions in the Biden drama. A group of Democrats, including within Biden’s orbit and the Democratic National Committee, remain bitterly upset with Pelosi because of her public pressure campaign to push Biden out.
Some have privately pledged to find ways to diminish Pelosi’s influence in the party after the November election — a seemingly impossible and risky task given her stature among Democrats. But, they may seek to target her daughter, Christine Pelosi, who is rumored to be considering a run for her mother’s California House seat whenever Pelosi decides to permanently step aside, according to two people familiar with the very loose conversations.
Pelosi remained unfazed when asked about how she would respond to Democrats still upset with her role in Biden’s exit.
“I have my relationship with the president, and I just wanted to win this election. So if they’re upset, I’m sorry for them, but the country is very happy,” she told The Washington Post following a California delegation breakfast on Monday. “I don’t know who they are, but that’s their problem.”
Publicly, the overwhelming majority of Democrats in Chicago are defending and celebrating the House speaker. During California’s ceremonial roll call vote Tuesday sending Harris over the top, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced himself as being “from the great state of Nancy Pelosi.”
Pelosi will have her turn to speak from the convention podium on Wednesday night after serving for roughly 35 years as the top Democrat in the House. Her influence goes beyond the halls of the Capitol, punctuated by becoming the first woman speaker of the House and shepherding major pieces of legislation during the Obama and Biden administrations.
Now in the dusk of her career, Pelosi seems unburdened and more forward about her thoughts in ways that she could not be when she was trying to unite her fractious Democratic colleagues and manage delicate legislative negotiations. Her outspokenness amid the Democrats’ painful debate to influence Biden’s future is seen by many as helping shape the electoral path for Harris, a fellow Californian, while critics say Pelosi remains a master at shaping the narrative to her benefit.
After saying she had no regrets about her actions at the delegation breakfast Monday, Pelosi added that a House member from Illinois told her that over 1,100 new volunteers had signed up to help the lawmaker’s campaign after Harris was announced as the Democratic nominee.
Those who know Pelosi are unsurprised by her ruthlessness in ensuring Democrats have a fighting chance to win back the House majority regardless of the cost.
While the Democratic Party has come together with astounding force for Harris, attention has lingered on those who may have swayed Biden’s decision to step aside. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) individually met with Biden last month to deliver their assessment that Democrats would likely lose both chambers if he stayed atop the ticket. But they have remained relatively mum publicly as they insist those conversations will stay private.
Pelosi has not disclosed precisely what she told Biden on a phone call in the days after his faltering debate in late June. But she publicly — though coyly — relayed the concerns she heard from “hundreds” of House Democrats who called her over those critical weeks. When many lawmakers were shocked by the tone in Biden’s letter to Congress declaring the debate about staying in the race was “over,” Pelosi famously reopened the conversation days later on MSNBC when she declared, “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run.”
When she sensed House Democrats were wavering on whether they could influence Biden, though they still feared he would affect them down ballot, she whipped up the California delegation during a weekly luncheon and declared her belief that Biden was still persuadable. She told them to fall in line for Harris if Biden eventually decided to step aside and Democrats quickly coalesced around her candidacy.
Biden remains adamant that his friend who rose to prominence largely in tandem with him should not be credited with his decision.
“I haven’t spoken to Nancy at all. Look, no one influenced my decision,” Biden told reporters before leaving Chicago to vacation in California Monday evening.
And Pelosi has remained effusive in praising Biden.
“He’s one of the greatest, most consequential, presidents in our country’s history, Joe Biden is. By dint of his vision, his values, his strategic thinking, the empathy that was in his heart for the American people, and that was captured by his understanding that the baton needed to be passed,” Pelosi said to reporters.
One of those Democrats who feels Pelosi betrayed Biden is Anita Dunn, former senior adviser to Biden. In a conversation with Politico on Tuesday, she recounted telling staff during her farewell party that watching “The Godfather” was one of the most instructive lessons to learn about politics and power.
“One of my favorites is revenge is a dish best served cold. Okay?” Dunn said. “What I told the staff was you don’t need to go get revenge right away. You can pick your times and just wait for your moments.”
If you ask the Democrats at large, however, Pelosi remains “The Godmother” — literally. Staffers began to hand House Democratic lawmakers at their hotels Tuesday black-and-white pins to wear of Pelosi’s face emblazoned under the moniker.
California delegates who have gathered each morning here for breakfast showed only signs of respect for their longtime leader, though she has sometimes ruffled feathers over her career in pursuit of her goals.
Delegates rushed up to take pictures with Pelosi, prompting the highest-ranking Californian in the House leadership — Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar — to say “Trust me, I’m the last person to get in the way of a Nancy Pelosi photo line.”
“She’s the matriarch. So what do we do with the matriarch of the family? We’re just like, okay, fall in line,” said Lynn Summers, who is running for San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District board. “What I love about her is her strategy. People always underestimate women and what we do … She’s our matriarch, and since she eats, lives, and breathes this, we respect her, her position, and her insight.”
Delaware delegates, who represent Biden’s home state, said they went through various stages of grief for Biden and acknowledged wincing at seeing Pelosi and other Hill Democrats role in pushing their favorite son aside. They determined early on that they would adamantly support him until he decided to release them to support Harris.
“I would say we were resistant to it,” Delaware State Auditor Lydia York said. “I watched with anxiety. But I am thrilled at how things have turned out.”
Matt Viser contributed to this report.
