Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stopped short of explicitly endorsing President Joe Biden for a second term, urging her Democratic colleagues to follow suit as calls for him to pull out of the 2024 race against Donald Trump continue to grow.
Speaking with MSNBC Wednesday morning, Pelosi, 84, said she advised party politicians – regardless of whether or not they support the 81-year-old President – to keep quiet.
"Let's just hold off," she said. "Whatever you're thinking, either tell somebody privately, but you don't have to put that out on the table until we see how we go this week."
"It's up to the president to decide if he is going to run," Pelosi added, suggesting Biden is still mulling over the idea of remaining the Democratic nominee. "We're all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short."
ABC News' Rachel Scott caught up with Pelosi following her MSNBC appearance, during which the congresswoman seemingly backtracked her statements from earlier – at first, refusing to comment "on the fate of our nation."
"I think he can win in November," Pelosi said, before growing apparently flustered with Scott's questions.
Speaker Pelosi tells me Biden can win
— Rachel Scott (@rachelvscott) July 10, 2024
She says she won’t make comments in the hallway about “the fate of our nation”
When I asked if Biden should run she said
“Am I speaking English to you? I’m not going to be making any statements about any of that right now in the hallway..” pic.twitter.com/8R1KsTuTc0
"Am I speaking English to you? I'm not going to be making any statements about any of that right now in the hallway."
Pelosi's seesawing statements came the same day an eighth member of Congress called on Biden to quit his campaign.
"I'd be doing a grave disservice if I said he was the best candidate to serve this fall," New York Rep. Pat Ryan told The New York Times. "For the good of our country, for my two young kids, I'm asking Joe Biden to step aside in the upcoming election and deliver on the promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders."
"I really hope, with all my heart, that he will listen," he continued.
Since Biden's disastrous debate June 27, supporters have grown increasingly doubtful he can defeat Donald Trump in their second matchup.
Biden over the weekend defended his performance, chalking it up to a cold and sleep deprivation, and has repeatedly declined to withdraw from the race.
