Pelosi declines to join calls to replace Biden on ticket in wake of bumpy debate

In what could be an example of Democratic Party elders sticking together or something else entirely, one of the left's most enduring power players has weighed in on whether President Joe Biden should bow out of the 2024 race in the wake of Thursday's disastrous debate.

As The Hill reports, former House Speaker and current California Rep. Nancy Pelosi has declined to join the chorus of those calling for Biden to step aside and allow for a replacement candidate to take his place.

Pelosi says no

The aftermath of Biden's faceoff with former President Donald Trump, in which the incumbent appeared confused, slow, and sometimes even vacant, has seen a number of prominent Democratic pundits opining that for the good of the country, it was time for the octogenarian candidate to call it quits.

When asked about the groundswell of voices calling for such a move, Pelosi reportedly said, “I don't know who's doing that.”

“I'm not doing it,” Pelosi said definitively in a clip that aired on MSNBC personality Ali Velshi's Saturday show.

The former speaker's position stood in contrast to that expressed by former Barack Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, who said on Friday that the debate was a “f***ing” disaster and suggested that a swift course-correction was needed.

“We have to beat Donald Trump. We have to have a nominee who can do that,” Favreau said, indicating his belief that Biden is not that person.

Allies defend Biden -- for now

Joining Pelosi in her apparent reluctance to throw Biden under the bus was Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), who appeared on CNN's State of the Union to discuss the situation.

“I know when I see what I call preparation overload. And that's exactly what was going on the other night,” Clyburn said in an attempted explanation of what went wrong for the president on Thursday, according to CNBC.

Clyburn added, “Joe Biden should continue to run on his record. I do believe that we will find him when contrasted with the record of the four years of Trump to be exactly what we need going forward.”

Other top Democrats who refused to jump on the “dump Biden” bandwagon in recent days included House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sens. Raphael Warnock and Chris Coons, not to mention former President Barack Obama.

However, a CBS News/YouGov poll taken after the debate revealed that a staggering 72% of registered voters are of the belief that Biden should not be a candidate for the presidency in November, and if that stark reality holds in the days and weeks to come, Democrats may have little choice but to make a last-ditch effort to save themselves by throwing the president overboard in favor of an alternative option.