Pelosi Offers Lukewarm Biden Endorsement, Sign Of Uneasy Status Quo

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), one of the country's most influential Democrats, has offered a lukewarm endorsement of President Biden's re-election bid. Speaking on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Pelosi said: "It's up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We're all encouraging him to make that decision. Because time is running short."

• When asked if she wants Biden to run, Pelosi says: "I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that's the way it is. Whatever he decides we go with."
• The absence of an explicit endorsement is glaring, considering Biden has forcefully staked out his intention to run for re-election.
• Pelosi adds that she wants Biden to deal with the NATO conference this week: "Let's just hold off. 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."
• Jake Sherman at Punchbowl News notes: "This statement from Pelosi is earth shaking. Hardly an endorsement of Biden from congress’s most prominent Democrat."
• MNI's Political Risk team noted in the US Daily Brief this morning that Biden appears to have weathered the immediate political storm following his weak debate performance but, "the current status quo is uneasy, and Biden’s electability looks increasingly shaky."
• Pelosi's comments on July 2, "I think it's a legitimate question to say, Is this an episode or is this a condition?" were widely seen as giving a green light for wavering House Reps to publicly call on Biden to withdraw. More could follow after today's remarks.