Pelosi Urges Biden to Step Aside Amidst Election Concerns

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged President Joe Biden to step aside for the upcoming November election. Pelosi supports Representative Adam Schiff's call for Biden to withdraw, citing concerns about Biden's ability to defeat Republican challenger Donald Trump. The White House has not yet responded to these claims.

Former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has told President Joe Biden he cannot win the Nov. 5 election and backed Representative Adam Schiff's call for him to step aside, a top White House source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Pelosi is one of the most influential members of Biden's Democratic Party and has been a fixture in Washington for decades. A source close to Pelosi said that Schiff's public comments came as news to her and that Schiff did not consult with her before making his concerns public.

A spokesman for the former speaker did not comment on what Pelosi told Biden. 'Speaker Pelosi respects the confidentiality of her meetings and conversations with the President...sadly the feeding frenzy from the press based on anonymous sources misrepresents any conversations the Speaker had with the President,' a spokesman said in a statement.

Schiff said in a statement on Wednesday that he has 'serious concerns' about whether Biden can defeat Republican challenger Donald Trump, the first Democrat to come out after the Saturday assassination attempt against the former president. Biden's campaign had believed that the shooting, in which Trump sustained a wound to the right ear, had tamped down calls for him to step aside in the 2024 race before Schiff's statement.

'Nancy is all over this. She doesn't miss. Schiff wouldn't move without her approval,' said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Pelosi is 'convinced public sentiment is against POTUS (president of the United States) and he can't change it,' the source added.

(With inputs from agencies.)