Nancy Pelosi played a central role in pushing Joe Biden out of the 2024 presidential race, according to revelations in Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House. The book details how Pelosi, leveraging her decades-long relationship with Biden, privately urged him , arguing it would “lower the presidency” to engage with Trump. She reportedly told Biden, “You shouldn’t lower yourself” by debating, appealing to his ego. Despite warnings from Pelosi and other aides, Biden insisted on facing Trump—a decision that backfired spectacularly after his shaky debate performance.
Behind the scenes, Pelosi coordinated with to pressure Biden to exit the race. The two communicated多次during the post-debate chaos, with Obama sharing concerns about Biden’s viability and Harris’s electability. Pelosi also worked to rally congressional Democrats, warning that Biden’s candidacy risked costing the party House seats. When Biden initially resisted dropping out, Pelosi reportedly told him, “The train has left the station,” signaling that his support had collapsed.
The book exposes Biden’s stubbornness, including his refusal to endorse Kamala Harris immediately after withdrawing. He initially told Harris to wait days for his support, relenting only after aides warned of a party revolt. Meanwhile, Harris’s campaign was blindsided by the loss, having relied on overly optimistic internal polling and large rally crowds that masked her weak appeal to swing voters.
Trump’s team, while initially panicked by Harris’s post-debate surge, stabilized by focusing on economic issues and Biden-Harris policy failures, such as inflation and the Afghanistan withdrawal. The authors describe Trump’s uncharacteristic discipline in avoiding self-sabotage, a shift from his 2020 campaign chaos.
Pelosi’s fingerprints were unmistakable in Biden’s ouster, with one source quipping she was “at the crime scene”. Her actions—combined with Obama’s quiet maneuvering and Biden’s miscalculations—reshaped a historic election, ultimately clearing Trump’s path to a second term.
