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Joe Biden has reportedly acknowledged that Nancy Pelosi “did what she had to do” by ousting him to stop Donald Trump from returning to the White House.
Politico reports that the president is gradually coming to terms with his forced departure, but remains bitter about the role the former House speaker and other old allies played in making it happen.
Biden, 81, is said to have a grudging respect for Pelosi, who reportedly presented Biden with private polling results in July showing he could not beat Trump in the presidential election.
That same month, when pressed on the president’s favorite TV show, “Morning Joe,” she publicly refused to support his reelection bid, a move Biden aides believe spurred other Democrats and donors to act against him.
“She did what needed to be done to give Democrats the best chance to win the presidential election in November,” Biden reportedly told one aide.
A Biden aide told him the day before he dropped out of the race that Pelosi, 84, would publicly express concerns about his campaign, which would embarrass the longtime ally.
Pelosi has never publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race, but several of her allies have.
A senior White House official said Biden viewed the former speaker as “ruthless” and willing to abandon long-term relationships to keep Democrats in power.
Biden acknowledged Sunday that he had dropped out of the race under pressure from Pelosi and other Democrats, who he said were “disturbed” by turmoil within his own party.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the following day that Biden “respects” the former speaker and insisted there was “no hard feelings.”
However, Politico reported that the two have not spoken since Biden ended his campaign.
Pelosi has downplayed her role in removing the president from the election and denied calling anyone to urge them to oppose his candidacy in November, but reportedly received multiple calls from concerned Democrats.
Biden is also said to be unhappy with his former vice president, Barack Obama, for not telling him to his face that he should drop out of the race.
The former president voiced his support for Biden following his dismal performance in the June debate but did not back down from efforts to oust him.
The relationship between the two is complicated, and the president has long believed that Obama’s staff looked down on him.
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