House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, over the course of two interviews on Thursday, gave her clearest signal yet to Democrats to keep the faith in Joe Biden…
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, over the course of two interviews on Thursday, gave her clearest signal yet to Democrats to keep the faith in Joe Biden as she downplayed the sexual-assault allegation that the presumptive Democratic nominee hasn’t addressed personally yet.
Pelosi doubled down on her endorsement of Biden, praised his integrity and reminded the public of the holes in former Senate aide Tara Reade’s evolving story and accusation against her onetime boss.
«There was never any record of this,» Pelosi said, refuting Reade’s claim that she reported the alleged sexual assault to Senate employees back in 1993. «… Nobody ever came forward to say something about it apart from the principal involved.»
Her forceful defense comes at a time when Biden has failed to address the allegation directly — though he’s poised to break his silence Friday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe — and his campaign hasn’t given any formal messaging guidance to his surrogates on how to address the sexual-assault claims, according to a source familiar with the talking points.
Meanwhile, swing-district Democrats are getting pressure from Republican campaign groups to respond to the Biden allegations and whether they are still «proud» to stand by the former vice president.
As the most high-profile Democrat to give a robust defense, Pelosi’s response can provide some cover to Democrats and set an example of how to push back, according to Democrat sources.
«She may have made that calculation that ‘I’m getting asked about this. I’m starting to see my members have confusing messages on this. Let me try to forcefully push back on this to provide them some cover.’… I’ve seen her do that and other issues where she’s kind of a heat shield for frontline or other members,» said one aide.
Pelosi’s stern defense of Biden — saying he’s «a person of great integrity» — came when Pelosi was irked she had to respond to reporters’ questions when she’d rather be talking about the Democrats’ coronavirus response.
«I don’t need a lecture,» Pelosi snapped at a reporter when asked whether Democrats have a double standard for Biden’s accuser.
But Pelosi’s effort to shut down the questions could be an effort to take the pressure off her members.
«The speaker has shown that she is a very strategic and masterful leader of our caucus. I think every decision that she makes always has a factor of how it protects the Democratic majority and how it protects our members,» the Democrat aide added.
