Pelosi: Biden is destroying Democrats' chances of retaking the House

CNN reported on Wednesday that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told President Joe Biden that polls show he cannot defeat his Republican rival Donald Trump in the presidential election.

The network quoted informed sources as saying that Pelosi spoke to Biden in a recent phone call, and assured him that he could destroy the Democrats' chances of regaining control of the House of Representatives.

While the network explained that the sources did not indicate that Pelosi urged Biden to withdraw from the race, it said that the latter responded by telling Pelosi that he saw opinion polls indicating his ability to win, according to a source at CNN.

CNN reported that Pelosi spent the weeks following the June 27 presidential debate between Biden and Trump, in which the president's performance was described as "disastrous," "listening to her colleagues' concerns" about Biden's candidacy and his ability to defeat Trump.

Pelosi caused a stir when she said in an interview last week: “It is up to the president to decide whether or not he will run. We are all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running out.”

In the same context, the network said yesterday, Wednesday, that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told Biden in a meeting last Saturday that it would be in the interest of the country and the party to end his bid for re-election.

The network also reported, citing a source, that House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries expressed similar views directly to Biden, while Schumer's office described the report in a statement as "empty speculation" and said that Schumer "conveyed his caucus' views directly to President Biden on Saturday."