Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 84, is older than President Joe Biden — and a growing number of Democrats believe the California Congresswoman needs to take the same advice she gave Biden: pass the torch.
Long been lauded as a master politician, Pelosi — the first female Speaker and an old school strategist who hit back at the Trump administration as effectively as any politician on the left — is now facing criticism from not just right-wingers who routinely use her name as a stand-in to what they see as liberal malfeasance, but also from her own party.
Pelosi keeps withholding praise for Biden, despite his having beat Trump in 2020, and it’s a bad look for the party says Tennessee Democrat Chris Jackson, a former state election commissioner and former chair of his local Democratic Party who later, according to his own bio, earned “an appointment by the Biden campaign to the prestigious DNC Platform Committee.”
I’m sorry, but I’ve reached my limit with Nancy Pelosi. In my eyes, no one has done more to tarnish their legacy than she has. It’s genuinely disappointing and disgusting at this point. https://t.co/Z3lN7KtSOH
— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) August 8, 2024
Pelosi has been vocal in defending Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris from GOP nominee Donald Trump‘s attacks, recently calling Trump’s questioning of Harris’s intelligence “pathetic.”
But Pelosi’s recent maneuvering has mostly added to the perception among Biden loyalists that Pelosi pushed the President out — and she is part of the Party’s past, not its future.
As Jackson wrote: “I’m sorry, but I’ve reached my limit with Nancy Pelosi. In my eyes, no one has done more to tarnish their legacy than she has. It’s genuinely disappointing and disgusting at this point.”
I didn’t think she should have been Speaker in 2018 because at 78 she was too old. The party needed new blood. But she surprised me and did very well. It seems awfully hypocritical of her to be pulling the too old card. Especially when she said ZERO about Feinstein being too old.
— Eric Moore – #PickUp5 pieces of plastic trash (@EricMoorePhoto) August 8, 2024
The comments from Democrats were deeply critical of Pelosi’s position and alleged hypocrisy.
I’m not sure what she’s accomplishing by taking cheap shots at Joe Biden. The guy is retiring in 6 months and has done more than any other president since FDR. He deserves our respect
— JK (@stankleg8915403) August 8, 2024
In a follow-up comment, Jackson questioned Pelosi’s standing as a campaign mastermind, wondering aloud if she possessed the winning record that would allow her to knock Biden’s campaign.
Not to diminish her legislative achievements, but it’s worth remembering Nancy lost the House TWICE as Speaker.
So what about her political operations??
— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) August 8, 2024
It’s not just the Biden push and insufficient gratitude that Dems are attacking Pelosi on — after all, Biden’s withdrawal has looked very good for the Democrats’ hopes. The Pelosi disaffection also includes a perception that — despite her defense of Harris in the face of Trump’s slurs — that she is inadequately enthusiastic about the ascension of Harris to the presidential nominee spot.
While Harris euphoria has gripped Democrats nationwide, Pelosi is portrayed as a reluctant supporter, with whispers that she wanted a different candidate.
Let’s not forget that she wanted a open convention.
— Brian E. Weaver (@Bdub9829) August 8, 2024
[NOTE: A point of pride among Biden’s fiercest supporters is that the President outmaneuvered Pelosi by endorsing Harris within an hour of ending his re-election bid.]