Nancy Pelosi says she did not call one person before Biden’s decision to exit 2024 race

Nancy Pelosi has claimed that she “did not call one person” in the weeks before President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race — despite widespread reports that the powerful Democrat had been key in his decision to step down.

The former House Speaker, who stepped down as leader of the Democratic caucus in 2023, downplayed her role during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning on August 4.

“It’s said that he’s furious with you,” anchor Lesley Stahl commented. Pelosi did not directly deny it, instead responding: “He knows I love him very much.”

“I understand that you don’t want to own this,” Stahl continued. “It’s been very well-reported that you were the leader of a pressure campaign [to convince Biden to step aside].”

“I did not call one person.” Speaker Nancy Pelosi talks with Lesley Stahl about her role in President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the presidential race. https://t.co/BtvgDUKdYf pic.twitter.com/cnJ8ywR5sU

“No, I wasn’t the leader of any pressure [campaign],” Pelosi responded. “Let me say things that I didn’t do: I didn’t call one person. I did not call one person. I could always say to him: ’I did not call anybody.’”

Biden announced in late July that he was exiting the Democratic ticket and backed his vice president Kamala Harris to take over. The stunning decision came after weeks of escalating calls from members ofhis own party for him to do so, following a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump in late June.

Reports of behind-the-scenes conversations have pointed the finger at both Pelosi and former president Barack Obama as some of those behind the effort. Obama’s position was never made clear in public interviews but many of his former White House and campaign aides