CHICAGO– CHICAGO (AP) — Nancy Pelosi She opened her speech at the convention with a sense of gratitude for President Joe Biden, even after her doubts about his campaign added to the pressure that led him to end his re-election bid.
“Thank you, Joe,” Pelosi said after discussing Biden’s legislative record.
Then the former House Speaker added: “I know Vice President Harris is ready to take us to new heights.”
It was a moment that sidestepped the difficult conversation that led to Harris becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, a dramatic event that generated excitement and optimism within the party about her chances against Republican Donald Trump.
Earlier in the day, the former House Speaker declined to elaborate on her fateful conversation with Biden, in which she expressed her concerns about the Democrats losing the White House in November.
Speaking at Chicago’s cathedral-like University Club, she initially stonewalled when asked what she had previously told Biden he dropped out of 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 prevent Trump from returning to the White House.
“I was very keen to protect his legacy,” Pelosi said of the president. “So my point was just: We need a better campaign.”
Pelosi does not explicitly take credit for pushing Biden to abandon his re-election campaign and make way for Harris, a move that transformed the presidential campaign and gave Democrats new hope of defeating Trump. But when she took the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Pelosi spoke to a crowd that was far more enthusiastic than it otherwise would have been, thanks in part to her.
Many lawmakers who hesitated to campaign with Biden this fall are enthusiastic supporters of Harris — and her.
“Speaker Pelosi is always someone who reflects the interests of the caucus,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., the party’s nominee in a crucial Senate race, said in an interview Wednesday before Pelosi’s speech. “By her going to President Biden and having those difficult conversations, she’s reflecting a much louder chorus that was going on among the elected leaders in the Democratic caucus.”
Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist with clients in California, said Pelosi had “a lot of conversations with donors that matter,” making it clear the former speaker’s influence was profound.
“People who matter in Democratic politics understand that Nancy Pelosi is the most influential Democrat of the last 50 years,” he said. “If you want to get something done, you go to Nancy Pelosi.”
Pelosi is a rare combination of power broker and peacemaker. A colleague once joked that she keeps both chocolates and a baseball bat in her office.
The 84-year-old has outlined a philosophy of toughness, saying her primary motivation is to help the one in five children living in poverty. She can talk fluently about the Grateful Dead and the Baltimore Ravens football team, the pride of her hometown.
She spoke with Democratic strategist David Axelrod on Wednesday about her new book“The art of power.” Her mission after a tumultuous few months, she said, is to keep voters focused on the upcoming election 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 kids,” she said, as the crowd of about 350 people laughed.
A grandmother’s idea that a boxer’s instincts are needed to defend society’s most vulnerable spoke to how she sees politics. For her, it requires a fierce empathy that has driven Democrats to cast tough votes, like the Affordable Care Act, which seemed risky at the time, despite its eventual popularity.
Biden wanted to make it clear that the decision to withdraw from the race was his alone, even as Pelosi had voiced concerns from lawmakers and Democratic voters, almost two-thirds of them 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 farewell speech to the DNC Monday night that he had not spoken to the former chairman.
“No, I haven’t spoken to Nancy at all,” Biden told reporters after his convention speech Monday night. “Nobody had any influence on my decision. Nobody knew it was coming.”
What Pelosi did do was provide clarity to the president on behalf of the various lawmakers 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 also give Jeffries credit for his representation. But Pelosi remains a figure in her own right, with a new title, “speaker emerita,” and a belief shared by friends and foes alike that she wields unparalleled influence behind the scenes.
Democrats are now betting — as Pelosi did before — that the hardest choices can also be the best.
“Do I think this was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever seen a leader make in my life? 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.”