by 
When Nancy Pelosi called Joe Biden to warn him about dirt polls, implying that he could not win the next election for Donald Trump, the president insisted that he had data to the contrary .
The 84-year-old former speaker did something that few others would have seen: she demanded to speak to the councilors telling him that and implied that they were not telling the truth to the president
“Get Donilon on the phone,” she said, referring to longtime Biden aide and strategist Mike Donilon. “Show me what the polls are.”
Openly challenging the president and implying that his aides were lying to him would be bold to come from anyone. Oh Mrs. Pelosi, it must be particularly wounding.
Mrs. Pelosi and Mr. Biden go back.
Another devout Catholic (Mr. Biden called him “my Catholic sister”), she gave him victory after victory in the House until his second term as speaker ended in 2022. Although they have fallen out in the past, he has let it be. is known to have considered her the best House speaker of all time.
And they share the same institutional political instincts and fears about what Trump might do to US democracy.
Mrs. Pelosi was Trump’s most prominent enemy during his 2016-2020 presidency.
But she’s also known as the Democrats’ toughest, smartest and most strategic thinker. And she seems to have concluded that, to stop Trump this time, she must first stop Mr. Biden.
Mrs. Pelosi avoided directly calling him to resign. But she is now thought to be working the phones behind the scenes to pressure Mr Biden to step aside.
His strategy seems to have three strands: first, private appeals to the president; secondly, when they are ignored, those conversations are leaked to the press (a classic example is the appearance of her statements about Mr. Donilon in the New York Times), and the third series is related to statements rare but decisive public policies designed to contain the rebellion. alive.
Restatement of the disagreement
Twice since his disastrous debate performance, Mr. Biden appeared to have softened the odds. It was Mrs. Pelosi who revived them both times.
By July 10, Mr. Biden’s pledge that only the “Lord Almighty” could convince him to stand aside most public criticism from elected Democrats. They didn’t want to put their heads above the parapet, risking their careers by angering the White House.
But then Ms. Pelosi appeared on Mr. Biden’s favorite morning show to deliver a deeply disturbing message.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he’s going to run. We are all encouraged to make that decision because time is running out,” she said.
That would be scrupulously neutral if Mr. Biden hadn’t already made that decision. The flames of rebellion immediately leaped back into life.
The race was rocked on July 13 when Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania. Democrats made it known that they believed the resulting outrage would end the campaign to oust Mr. Biden, which was short on time anyway.
But again, Mrs. Pelosi applied herself to the cause, calling Mr. Biden shortly afterward to say that she saw little chance of him winning re-election.
With Mr. Biden still defiant several days later, representatives Adam Schiff of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland, two close allies of Mrs. Pelosi, called on Mr. Biden to resign. One Democrat described Mr. Schiff as Mrs. Pelosi’s “drone.”
On Thursday, Barack Obama, the former president, expressed through intermediaries that he also doubts Mr. Biden’s ability to win the election.
But the president remained defiant. When he responded Friday that he was “looking forward” to getting back on the campaign trail next week, more of Mrs. Pelosi’s allies called on him to step down.
Every time Mr. Biden looks like he’s found a moment of peace, the pressure is repeated on him with strategic flaws.
Get a record of big calls right
The president should be concerned that Mrs. Pelosi has a track record of getting the big calls right.
For Republicans, she is the epitome of the California champagne liberal (literally: she and her husband own a vineyard in Napa Valley that supplies grapes for several wines). The couple lives in a nice place in Presidio Heights, one of the most exclusive areas of San Francisco. She has an estimated net worth north of $100 million, making her one of the wealthiest members of Congress.
But she proved her political name – and the reading of the electorate – time and again.
She was one of the few Democrats who opposed the invasion of Iraq.
Mrs. Pelosi has long resisted calls to impeach Trump because she was not sure he would succeed — and if he did, he would emerge stronger.
She could remember Bill Clinton resigning from his own brush with impeachment which had a huge popularity boost.
And she pointed out that Richard Nixon was only forced to because the Watergate tapes came to light, even Republicans could see that he had to go. There has been no similar change of heart about Trump in the modern Republican party, so it would be naive to expect success.
‘Most effective speaker ever’
Her superpower as a politician was being able to gauge support and opposition down to the final vote, knowing what representatives should offer to pass legislation despite the narrowest of margins.
That skill was critical to the passage of Mr. Obama’s flagship Affordable Care Act in March 2010 by a 219-212 vote.
She pulled off the same trick for Mr. Biden in 2021 when she delivered her infrastructure act despite the Democrats only having a three-seat majority. In the end the bill passed by a margin of 228-206, with the support of 16 Republicans.
Bruce Melman, a Republican lobbyist, called her “the most effective speaker ever” after that vote.
Much of that work angered the alt-Right. On January 6, 2021, Capitol rioters sought her office. Among those later jailed was a woman who said: “We were looking for Nancy to shoot her in the friggin’ brain, but we didn’t find her.”
Mrs. Pelosi withdrew from mainstream politics soon after Canadian conspiracy theorists attacked her husband in their home.
But she appears to be making a last-ditch effort to thwart Trump – by making sure Mr Biden is not the Democratic nominee on November 5.
While the president has spoken openly about the need to get more rest, Mrs. Pelosi is relentless in her pursuit of her goals.
“People get tired,” she said of the art of negotiation. “You can’t be tired. You can never be tired.”
Mr. Biden is now on the receiving end of that doggedness.
