During an interview with New York Times, Nancy Pelosi claims other candidates could run in more competitive election Democratic Party There was a President in the presidential primary election Joe Biden “I left earlier.”

Former House speaker says Biden quickly endorses VP Kamala HarrisAfter dropping out of the race in July, he “made it nearly impossible to get into the primary at that time.”

on tuesday Republican applicant Donald Trump He convincingly won the 2024 presidential election by at least 301 Electoral College votes, according to The Associated Press (AP); this was 31 more than needed for victory.

Trump is also ahead in Arizona, the only state the AP has not yet called, and is on track to win the popular vote for the first time.

During an appearance ReportA. New York Times “If the president had left earlier, there might have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said on the podcast.

“The expectation was that if the president stepped aside, there would be an open primary.”

The former speaker continued: “And as I said, I think Kamala could have done it well and would have been stronger going forward. But we don’t know that. That didn’t happen. We live with what happened.”

“And because the President immediately endorsed Kamala Harris, it became almost impossible to hold a primary at that time. If it had happened much earlier, it would have been different.”

Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race on July 21 and almost immediately endorsed Harris as the Democratic nominee. This came after intense pressure from within his own party following his much-criticized performance in an election. Debate with Trump on June 27 This has reignited concerns about the 81-year-old’s age and cognitive status.

news week He contacted Pelosi and the White House for comment via email outside normal business hours on Saturday.

on wednesday, Pelosi reacted to Trump’s victory in a previous post on X excitement“We all pray for America’s success in the next administration. The peaceful transfer of power is the cornerstone of our democracy. After every election, we all have a responsibility to come together and find common ground.”

Pelosi also attended Harris’ concession speech at Howard University in Washington, DC, the same day. Fox News he described her appearance as “gloomy and teary-eyed”.

On Friday, Rep. Pat Ryan, a New York Democrat, suggested Biden should do so. withdrew from the competition early During an interview with CNNJake Tapper.

He said: “I think there was a really unique opportunity for President Biden to have this moment in Washington and show that he wasn’t in this for himself, he was in this to put the country and the party above himself.

“And if he had done what he said during the campaign and talked about being a bridge to this new generation (…) I think if the president had included that, we would have had a different outcome.”

Political scientist and analyst Steven Schier it has been said before news week He said he could perform better than Harris in Pennsylvania, one of the most important states Biden lost.

He said: “Biden’s impeachment will continue to be a source of great controversy within the Democratic Party.

“It is clear that Biden will outperform Harris in states like Pennsylvania, despite his cognitive disabilities.”