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According to a new book, ‘Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,’ by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, US house speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi played a key role in advising then-US President Joe Biden against debating then-Republican candidate Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election.
As per the New York Postthe book details how Pelosi, a longtime critic of Trump, lobbied Biden to avoid the debate, warning that it would diminish his stature. “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,’” Allen said.
Despite her efforts, Biden insisted on facing Trump, reportedly relishing the challenge. However, his lacklustre performance in the debate led to a crisis of confidence within the Democratic Party.
Pelosi, initially believing Biden could recover, ultimately determined that he could not defeat Trump and played a crucial role in persuading him to withdraw from the race.
According to Fox News, other close advisers, including former White House aide Anita Dunn, also advised against the debate, but the campaign struggled as Biden’s poll numbers plummeted. A month before the debate, Pelosi had publicly said that she would “never recommend” Biden debate Trump, though she admitted the set-up was “a good one.”
Biden dropped out of the race in July, and then US Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee. However, she was ultimately defeated by Trump in the November election.
Pelosi’s influence in Biden’s decision to step aside was highlighted in another book, ‘American Reckoning: Inside Trump’s Trial—and My Own’, by Jonathan Alter. It describes how Pelosi, drawing on her decades-long friendship with Biden, convinced him that the risk of losing the House was too great. “Pelosi is an institutionalist; she loves the House, and her nightmare of not regaining control of that chamber seemed to be coming true,” Alter wrote.
