Pelosi dodges question when asked if Harris should be Biden’s 2024 VP

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi conceded Joe Biden may drop out of the 2024 race – then smirked, laughed and dodged the question when asked if she thinks Kamala Harris should run to be re-elected as vice president.

Worryingly for the president, Pelosi also gave an evasive answer when pressed about whether his career willl continue until 2024 and beyond. 

Asked if she thought ‘there’s any chance (Biden) does not continue running,’ Pelosi gave a less-than-definitive: ‘I hope not, I hope not.’ 

 The 80 year-old president – who is the oldest ever elected – has faced growing questions over his cognitive abilities – with more of the criticism coming from his own party.

Pelosi, 83, also gave a classic non-answer to Anderson Cooper on his show Wednesday night when asked if Harris was ‘the best running mate for this president.’ 

She answered: ‘He thinks so, and that’s what matters. She’s very politically astute. I don’t think people give her enough credit. Her values are consistent with the president’s values. Why would she be vice president if she were not?’ 

Pushed again by Cooper – Pelosi still dodged the question, but began to smile, giggle and even raise her eyes conspiratorially as she spoke. The CNN star was off-camera at the time and it’s unclear if he did something to amuse her.

Speaking through a smile, Pelosi said: ‘She’s the vice president of the United States. People say to me, well, why isn’t she doing this or that? I say, because she’s the vice president. That’s the job description. You don’t do that much.’

Ultimately, Pelosi did have some praise for Harris’ job performance.

‘You know, you’re a source of strength, inspiration, intellectual resource and the rest and I think she’s represented our country very well at home and abroad.’ 

Pelosi also laughed off a David Ignatius column in the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post that challenged both Harris and her boss, writing: ‘President Biden should not run again in 2024.’

Ignatius largely praises Biden’s first years in office, claiming the Democrat has ‘governed from the center out’ and done a good job with foreign policy in supporting Ukraine.

However, he says not just Biden but Vice President Kamala Harris should avoid running in 2024. 

‘It’s painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement – which was stopping Trump.’ 

He cited disastrous poll numbers for Biden in terms of approval rating and the public’s opinion of his age.

Pelosi laughed off the Ignatius’ criticism as just one voice and retorted a previous criticism Ignatius made of her trip to Taiwan.

‘Yeah, so? That’s one. He also said he shouldn’t run because he allowed me to go to Taiwan. Nobody allows me to do anything. It wasn’t up to David Ignatius.’ 

Pelosi was full of praise for the president when asked if he was the best person for the Democratic nomination in 2024. 

‘I think so. Yes. President Biden has — he has great experience and wisdom. He’s been at this for a long time, as you know, as a senator, vice president, and now president. He has a vision for our country that’s about fairness and justice and addressing the kitchen table issues of America’s working families.’

She admitted that ‘there may be some concerns’ among Democrats about his age but that everybody’s for him. Overwhelmingly, everybody’s for him.

For Harris – whose criticism Pelosi did not directly address – he cited ‘simple fact is that she has failed to gain traction in the country or even within her own party.’ 

He even suggested Biden replace Harris on the ticket with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass or Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. 

‘Right now, there’s no clear alternative to Biden – no screamingly obvious replacement waiting in the wings. That might be the decider for Biden, that there’s seemingly nobody else. But maybe he will trust in democracy to discover new leadership ‘in the arena.” 

Harris insisted last week that she was ready to ‘take over’ from President Joe Biden if the 80-year-old fell ill and couldn’t carry on running the country.

The VP laid out the worst-case scenario, but insisted Biden is fine and can continue serving through a second term until he is 86.

Harris, who has struggled with dire approval ratings, defended the president’s age  during an interview with the Associated Press at the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

The AP’s Chris Megerian pointed to last week’s AP-NORC poll that found 77 percent of Americans, including 69 percent of Democrats, believe Biden is too old to run for reelection. 

A Wall Street Journal poll out Monday had similar findings, with 73 percent of voters saying Biden is too old to run again, including two-thirds of Democrats. 

Harris dismissed concerns and said Biden was ready to serve as president until January 2025.

‘First of all, let me say that our president has been an extraordinary leader who has accomplished things that previous presidents hoped and dreamed and promised they would do and did not achieve,’ she said. 

‘So yes, I see him every day, a substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can, to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people, have played out,’ Harris continued. 

‘And so I will say to you, that I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers – and Joe Biden delivers,’ the VP added. 

Harris also answered in the affirmative when Megerian asked if she was prepared to serve as president. 

‘Yes,’ she said.