Pelosi: Those close to Biden should have acted on concerns about his mental acuity

In an interview with POLITICO's Jonathan Martin, Pelosi confirmed she had private conversations with Biden about her polling concerns, suggesting that "those who did know should have acted upon that information. Whoever knew." She added that "There was staff saying the family knew. The family said the staff."

Pelosi's comments offer some of the most detailed public reflections on her role in urging Biden to reconsider running for another term. She maintained that she did not demand Biden drop out but rather advised him to re-evaluate polling data that indicated a difficult path against Donald Trump. "I only said to President Biden, ‘I’ve come to question the polling that you have and how your campaign is being conducted,’" Pelosi said, noting that "at that point, 72 percent of the American people didn’t think he should run."

Pelosi did not specify her concerns about Biden's mental decline at the time but recalled her reaction to his performance during a televised debate with Trump in June 2024. "When you think of the debate and how sad that was, that’s really when we learned," Pelosi said. "I didn’t know, and I think he had his sort of ups and downs."