TWISTING THE KNIFE

Jill Biden Cryptically Addresses ‘Disappointing’ Nancy Pelosi Friendship

The outgoing first lady spoke out about her longtime friend’s role in ending her husband’s hopes of re-election.

Jill Biden gave a cryptic answer when reflecting on her relationship with Nancy Pelosi, her longtime friend who played a major role in the pressure campaign to get President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 election.

In an interview with The Washington Post published Wednesday, the first lady spoke about her disappointment at the way in which her husband’s re-election hopes came to an abrupt end. “I learned a lot about human nature,” she said.

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Despite initially insisting “that’s all I’m going to say,” Jill Biden did reveal more about her feelings when asked about Pelosi.

In July, the former House Speaker appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe at a time when the president was defiantly insisting he still intended to remain in the race despite his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.

“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” Pelosi said on the show, suggesting that his remaining in the race was not certain despite his assurances. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short.”

Reflecting on the episode, Jill Biden said she had “been thinking a lot about relationships.”

“It’s been on my mind a lot lately, and—” she told the Post, pausing before adding: “We were friends for 50 years. It was disappointing.”

Pelosi herself expressed concern about how her actions in helping to end Joe Biden’s campaign would affect their five-decade friendship. In August, after Kamala Harris had replaced him at the top of the Democratic ticket, Pelosi told The New Yorker that the president hadn’t spoken to her since he announced his withdrawal from the race. Asked if she thought their longstanding relationship could survive, she answered: “I hope so. I pray so. I cry so.”

She also said she was losing sleep over the matter. Pelosi confirmed she was still getting the cold shoulder in October, telling a Guardian podcast that there “may be some people around him who haven’t forgiven me for my role.” She added at the time that she thought Joe Biden “might have won” against Trump, but “the campaign that they were on couldn’t win.”

Jill Biden, in her interview with the Post, answered “sure” when asked if she believed her 82-year-old husband could have governed for another term. Her confident answer starkly contrasted the answer Joe Biden gave himself when he was asked the same question on the same day.

“I don’t know,” he told USA Today. “Who the hell knows?”

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