Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who this week announced her reelection campaign to keep the congressional seat she's held for decades, is not giving Vice President Kamala Harris, a fellow Californian, a ringing endorsement to remain President Joe Biden's running mate.
"He thinks so, and that's what matters," the California Democrat told CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" on Wednesday night, when Cooper asked her if she thinks Harris is the best running mate for Biden.
Harris, though, is "very politically astute," Pelosi said, adding that she doesn't think people "give her enough credit."
"She, of course, values the base, consistent with the president's values," Pelosi said, but "people don't understand that she is politically astute. Why would she be vice president if she was not?"
Pelosi pointed out that when Harris was running for attorney general in California, "she had 6% in the polls," but she "politically, astutely made her case about why she would be good, did her politics, and became attorney general. People should not underestimate what Kamala Harris brings to the table."
But when Cooper asked her again if she thinks Harris is Biden's best running mate, Pelosi responded simply that she's "the vice president of the United States."
"People say to me, why isn't she doing this or that?" said Pelosi. "It's because she's the vice president. That is their job description. You don't do that much. You're a source of strength, inspiration, intellectual resource, and the rest, and I think she's represented her country very well at home and abroad."
However, she praised Biden when asked if he was the best person to win the Democrats' nomination in 2024.
"President Biden has great experience and wisdom," she said. "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."
Pelosi acknowledged that there "may be some concern" among Democrats about Biden's age, but told Cooper that "overwhelmingly, everybody's for him."
When asked if there was a chance that Biden could drop out of the race, she responded "I hope not. I hope not."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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