Sign up for Inside Washington’s daily email to get exclusive U.S. reporting and analysis delivered straight to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
When Governor Gavin Newsom of California cast his state’s 482 votes for Kamala Harris at the United Center, he called his state “the great state of Nancy Pelosi.” The petite Italian-American grandmother, wearing her signature pearl necklace, stood beside him the entire time, beaming with pride.
And as President Joe Biden delivered his farewell address to the convention on Monday night, Pelosi held up a sign that read, “We love Joe.”
The two moments were bizarrely poetic considering Pelosi helped orchestrate President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the ballot, a move that led to fellow Californian Harris becoming the nominee – and also played a role in Harris’ selection of her running mate, Tim Walz.
On Wednesday night, Pelosi will take the stage at the Democratic National Convention, where she will cement her status as the elder stateswoman and matriarch of the Democratic Party. Barack Obama may also have helped push Biden off the stage, and he may have mentored Harris. Jaime Harrison could be the committee chairman, and Hakeem Jeffries could hold Pelosi’s old title as House Democratic leader. But make no mistake: Pelosi is still the one running the party and making the tough decisions.
But that doesn’t mean that people care about it.
“Biden made the decision (to resign) and I am proud of that,” said MP Jan Schakowsky The Independent.
“I think one thing we’ve seen this week is that all the other crap is behind us,” said one Democratic strategist, noting how Biden has embraced the Harris-Waltz plan. “He came out and gave her the other night what I think is the most vocal endorsement he possibly could.”
Representative Jamie Raskin, a protégé of Pelosi, said The Independent that the party is “united” and “focused on winning”.
But although no one will say it, Pelosi is the reason for the good mood in Chicago. In fact, in the promotion of her book The Art of PowerPelosi did not mince her words when she said Biden’s campaign was heading for disaster and that he was in danger of losing to Donald Trump.
Pelosi now occupies a unique role in the party. She is no longer burdened with an official title, apart from that of honorary speaker emeritus. Her statements no longer risk dividing her faction.
But the Democrats’ years of leadership in the House of Representatives under two Democratic presidents, the implementation of their key legislative goals, and their staunch opposition to Trump give them unique credibility.
Pelosi has said she has “not called a single person” to oust Biden from office. That may or may not be true. But someone like Pelosi, a respected leader with a track record unmatched by any living Democrat, would not need to make phone calls to get her way.
For much of the 2010s, she took on a peculiar role of taking the blame for everything bad that happened to Democrats. She became a punching bag for Republicans, regularly pairing her with vulnerable Democrats like Walz, a rural Democrat.
But she never seemed to mind. Although she’s a San Francisco 49ers fan, she clearly subscribes to former Oakland Raiders coach Al Davis’ mantra: “Just win, baby.” In other words, when the election is over, everything will be sorted out. Pelosi is willing to take setbacks – including her decades-long friendship with Biden – to ensure Democrats defeat Trump, her personal public enemy number one.
In fact, Pelosi was asked on CNN earlier this week about her alleged feud with Biden, to which she replied, “Sometimes you just have to take a hit for the kids.” Not long after, in the style of many others at the DNC this week, she asked, “Why are we even talking about this?”
