First lady Jill Biden expressed her disappointment with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a new interview with The Washington Post, providing rare public comments about the fractured relationship between her husband, Joe Biden, and Pelosi following the president’s departure from the 2024 race.
“We were friends for 50 years,” the first lady said in an interview with The Washington Post published Wednesday. “It was disappointing.”
Pelosi was among the top Democrats to express reservations about Joe Biden’s ability to defeat Donald Trump in November after the president’s halting debate performance in June. As Biden remained adamant he would stay in the race, Pelosi made waves in an interview as she opened the door to the possibility he should end his campaign.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,” Pelosi said on MSNBC in July.
In the extensive interview, the first lady also publicly disclosed her conversation with Trump when the two spoke at the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last month.
“I had a good meeting with your husband in the Oval Office,” the president-elect said, according to the first lady. “Yes,” she replied, “because you’re both talkers.”
Asked why she would engage with Trump following the bitterness of the campaign, she replied, “Joe and I respect our institutions, our traditions.”
“It’s very important to me that they continue and we — ” she continued. “What would be the point of nastiness?”
The interview provides rare insight into how the first family is navigating the end of the Biden presidency, including the summer weeks during which Democrats privately and publicly pushed for her husband to step aside from the race.
“Let’s just say I was disappointed with how it unfolded,” Jill Biden said. “I learned a lot about human nature.”
Pelosi privately told President Biden in July that polling showed he could not defeat Trump and could upend Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he remained in the race, CNN previously reported. A source with direct knowledge described Biden as “seething” at Pelosi at the time.
After Trump’s victory in November, Pelosi placed blame for Democrats’ loss on Biden. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” the California Democrat said during an interview with a New York Times podcast.
Pelosi, however, praised Biden’s leadership following his farewell address Wednesday evening, saying the nation is stronger for it and touting several of his accomplishments.
“President Joe Biden is one of the most consequential presidents in American history. With the wisdom and magnificent leadership of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, our nation has been graced by four historic years of progress, hope and unity for hard-working American families,” Pelosi said in a post on X.
It is unclear whether Joe Biden and Pelosi have spoken since July.
The first lady said she still believes her husband could have served another four years — even as he recently said that might not be the case.
“Sure,” she said “I mean, today, I think he has a full schedule. He started early with interviews and briefings, and it just keeps going.”
The first lady expressed concern that the president won’t receive credit for some of his accomplishments, including infrastructure investments. But she also acknowledged the complicated dynamics of her husband pardoning their son Hunter in the closing weeks of his presidency.
“Joe really wrestled with that decision,” Jill Biden said. “I mean, we started — he started at the point where he said he wasn’t going to pardon Hunter. But then I think things changed. Circumstances changed, and it became quite apparent and obvious that the Republicans weren’t going to stop.”
As her work at the White House winds down, the first lady said, “I hope that women see me as a reflection of themselves. You know, a mom, a grandmom, a working woman, a sister, a friend.”
“I hope that they remember Joe as a strong, empathetic president with integrity and character,” she said. “I mean, character really is everything, isn’t it?”
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Rashard Rose contributed to this report.
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