Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has defended her role in ousting former President Joe Biden from his reelection bid by arguing that Democrats would have suffered even greater losses had he remained in the 2024 race.
After Pelosi, Barack Obama, and other top Democrats were forced to drop out, his replacement, Kamala Harris, suffered a crushing defeat to President Donald Trump.
However, Democrats also suffered down the ballot.
Democrats netted one seat in the House of Representatives by flipping nine Republican-held seats.
Meanwhile, Republicans flipped eight seats previously held by Democrats in the 2024 election.
Since Trump’s historic victory, Biden has claimed that he would have won the election if he had remained in the race.
However, Pelosi appeared to dispute Biden’s claims.
According to the former House speaker, Republicans likely would have seen more victories in the congressional races if Biden hadn’t dropped out.
“Well, all I know is that we won a seat in the House,” Pelosi said.
“We did not lose any seats,” she told MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
“People were like ‘oh the Democrats lost,’ no, we did not.
“I think it would’ve been quite different with President Biden at the top of the ticket.”
Democrats largely called on Biden to drop out of the 2024 race.
The calls came following Biden’s disastrous performance during the June 27 presidential debate against his then-rival President Donald Trump.
In compliance with his own party’s demands, Biden announced he was stepping down from the race in a July 21 statement.
He immediately endorsed then-Vice President Harris, who lost the popular vote and all seven swing states to Trump.
Biden reportedly held the most anger toward Pelosi.
He also expressed frustration toward former President Barack Obama and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Pelosi, Obama, and Schumer had all reportedly worked behind the scenes to make him drop out of the race.
Former first lady Jill Biden said in January that she found it “disappointing” that Pelosi did not stand by her husband’s side as Democrats collectively called on him to step down.
Pelosi confirmed to Mitchell that she has not spoken to Biden since he exited the race.
She said the Democrats should have won for the good of the nation’s children.
“Jill Biden has spoken out saying she was disappointed in you,” Mitchell said.
“Is there any way to patch that up, have you spoken to [Biden]?”
“No, I haven’t,” Pelosi said.
“But the fact is, we’re all on a mission for the American people, for America’s working families.
“My whole passion about being in politics is for the children.
“So what is it that we’re doing for the children?
“I think it would’ve been important for the children to not have Donald Trump be President of the United States, and I would take every step necessary to make sure that didn’t happen.
“But it did, and now we have to deal with it.”
WATCH:
During a July 10 interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Pelosi declined to answer whether she supported Biden’s reelection bid.
She told co-host Jonathan Lemire that dropping out of the race was the then-president’s choice.
The former House speaker denied allegations that she spearheaded the Democrats’ push to force Biden out of the race.
However, sources told Politico that she warned the then-president that he could either exit the race “the easy way or the hard way.”
The California Democrat further suggested in a November 9 interview that Harris or another nominee for the party would have been “stronger” or better equipped to make their case to the American people if Biden had dropped out sooner.
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