Barack Obamas furious 7-word call to Nancy Pelosi | Political News

Former President Barack Obama did not maintain back when confronting Nancy Pelosi after the previous House Speaker endorsed Kamala Harris just sooner or later following Joe Biden‘s withdrawal from the presidential race.

Bombshell particulars emerged in ABC News’ Jonathan Karl’s explosive new e book, Retribution: Donald Trump and the Campaign that Changed America. It revealed what many already suspected—that Obama opposed the then-vice president changing into the Democratic nominee and instead favored a aggressive “process.”

Obama contacted Pelosi immediately after her Harris endorsement went public. “The Obamas were not happy,” a source close to Pelosi revealed to Karl. “This person summed up Obama’s message to Pelosi as, essentially, ‘What the f— did you just do?.'”

Pelosi allegedly responded to Obama by saying, “That train has left the station.”

The endorsement caught Obama off guard because he and Pelosi maintained “regular communication” as it turned more and more clear that the then-81-year-old Biden would exit the race, and “they agreed Harris should not simply be handed the nomination unchallenged,” Karl documented.

“Therefore, Obama and Pelosi – arguably the two most influential figures in the Democratic Party – had privately agreed to abstain from making any endorsements,” Karl added.

In the weeks before Biden’s withdrawal from the race, he delivered a poor debate efficiency against Donald Trump on June 27, 2024. This was adopted by an awkward interview with George Stephanopoulos in which he could not affirm whether or not he had reviewed his own debate efficiency.

He subsequently made a number of gaffes, including mistakenly calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “President Putin” during the NATO summit and referring to Harris as “Vice President Trump.”

Questions about Biden’s mental fitness intensified during this period, and the president then contracted COVID-19 while visiting Las Vegas, showing so weakened that Secret Service brokers seemingly had to help him into an SUV for transport back to his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, trip residence.

These mixed components prompted Biden to withdraw from the race on July 21, endorsing Harris just hours afterward. Pelosi backed Harris around 1 p.m. the next day, a transfer that pissed off Obama.

Obama upset with endorsement

“The former president wanted to know what had happened. Why had Pelosi issued a statement endorsing Harris so soon?” Karl wrote. “Hadn’t he and Pelosi agreed days earlier that party leaders anointing the vice president as Biden’s replacement would be a mistake?” A source close to Obama revealed to Karl that the previous president wasn’t upset with Pelosi over her endorsement, describing their dialog as a “good-natured ribbing.”

However, a source close to Pelosi recalled the interplay otherwise, stating that Obama appeared “genuinely irritated” by Pelosi’s endorsement.

A senior Biden adviser who also served in the Obama administration told Karl that Obama hesitated to endorse Harris because he doubted the vice president’s capacity to win. “There’s only one Black Jesus,” the Biden adviser quipped.

Another particular person very close to Pelosi was also bowled over by her endorsement: her husband, Paul Pelosi. “Kamala?” Paul questioned his spouse, according to Karl.

“Don’t start with me,” Nancy Pelosi responded during a dialog. Pelosi had never been a strong supporter of Harris, privately expressing to Biden her reservations about him selecting her as his working mate.

However, other outstanding Democrats like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and potential challengers such as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer shortly endorsed Harris. Pelosi acknowledged “she had no choice,” according to Karl.

“No other candidates had stepped forward – Kamala Harris was it. The only thing Pelosi could do was try to help her win the election,” he added.

Barack and Michelle Obama seemingly reached the same conclusion, formally throwing their assist behind Harris in a marketing campaign video launched 5 days after Biden withdrew from the race.