- Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi weighed in on Biden’s presidency in a recent interview.
- She praised Biden’s performance, but suggested that age factors negatively into his re-election plans.
- She also said the Democratic Party has “other great candidates” that could beat Trump in 2024.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently stepped down from her position in leadership. While she won’t urge President Joe Biden to follow her lead, she suggested that age is one reason why he could consider not running again.
“Is age a positive thing for him? No,” Pelosi told the New York Times in an interview published on Saturday, saying Biden would have to weigh the pros and cons of making such a decision.
But Pelosi, 82, also said the 80-year-old Biden “has done a great job” and said it would be his decision to make — for her part, she’s said publicly that he should run again in 2024.
“He has just done so many things that are so great,” Pelosi said in November. “He’s put money in people’s pockets, vaccines in their arms, children back to school, people back to work — for starters.”
She also told the Times that age is “a relative thing” that doesn’t necessarily correlate with the ability to do the job.
But she also said that Biden is not the only Democratic candidate that could beat former President Donald Trump in 2024. “I think we have other great candidates when the time comes,” she said.
While Trump has already launched his own re-election bid, Biden is still in the planning stages. According to one recent report, he could announce as soon as next month. If he were to run again and win, he would be 86 when he finishes his second term in 2028.
In recent years, discussion of age in politics and so-called “gerontocracy” — rule by the elderly — has only grown, with some even floating the idea of an age limit for political office. Insider recently explored the topic in our “Red, White, and Gray” series.
After serving as the top House Democrat for over 20 years — including two stints as speaker of the House — Pelosi stepped down at the end of last year, with Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York taking her place. She continues to serve in Congress as a rank-and-file member, representing her San Francisco-based district.
