A new book on the 2024 election highlights a secret conversation between House Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi and President Joe Biden, in which Pelosi reportedly urged Biden not to debate then-candidate Donald Trump.
This revelation, shared by authors Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes in their book Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House, provides a closer look at the behind-the-scenes tensions within the Democratic Party leading up to Biden’s decision to exit the race.
In an interview on Monday with former Politico reporter Tara Palmeri, Allen and Parnes revealed several insights from their book, including how Pelosi lobbied Biden to avoid the infamous debate with Trump, fearing it would damage his image and chances.
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Pelosi’s advice was reportedly driven by her belief that the debate would lower the presidency and was not a contest Biden could win.
Allen described Biden’s strong desire to participate in the debate.
“Joe Biden wanted to debate really badly. He wanted this fight. He relished it. You’ve heard Biden before say things like ‘I want to meet him out behind the schoolyard.’ He really wanted to debate.”
However, Pelosi, who has long been an adversary of Trump, urged Biden to reconsider.
“Pelosi went to him and tried to play to his ego, saying, ‘You shouldn’t lower yourself, you shouldn’t lower the presidency to Donald Trump. Even in her mind, she would say to him, ‘Don’t roll around in the mud.’”
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Allen further suggested that Pelosi likely did not believe Biden had the skills to defeat Trump in the debate. “If she thought Biden was going to beat Donald Trump in a debate, she would have been telling him to debate,” he remarked.
Tara Palmeri also revealed that Pelosi was not the only one advising Biden to avoid the debate. Former Biden adviser Anita Dunn was among the figures behind the scenes who reportedly encouraged the president to sit out the confrontation. Despite these efforts, the Biden campaign found itself in a difficult position after Biden’s poll numbers began to drop.
Fox News Digital reached out to Pelosi’s office and representatives for Biden for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
In June, just one month before the debate, Pelosi had made her stance clear, stating that she would “never recommend” Biden debate Trump but acknowledged that the debate format was “a good one.”
However, as Biden’s performance in the debate fell short of expectations, Pelosi’s concerns deepened, and she became a central figure in persuading Biden to abandon his presidential bid.
Jonathan Alter, in his book American Reckoning: Inside Trump’s Trial—and My Own, described Pelosi as a key player in Biden’s decision to withdraw.
“The key figure in getting Biden to change his mind was Pelosi, who drew on their forty-year friendship.”
Initially, Pelosi believed Biden could recover from his “bad night” during the debate, but her fear of losing control of the House of Representatives became a driving factor in her decision to push Biden out of the race.
With the Democrats’ chances of regaining the House hanging in the balance, Pelosi saw Biden’s performance as a threat to the party’s broader goals.
In July, Biden officially dropped out of the race, and the Democratic Party quickly rallied behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee. However, Harris’s campaign ultimately faltered, and she went on to lose the general election to President Trump in November.
This behind-the-scenes drama paints a picture of a Democratic Party in turmoil, with key figures like Pelosi playing a decisive role in shaping the party’s course during one of the most volatile presidential campaigns in modern history.
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