Pelosi Advises Biden To Sit For Interviews With ‘Serious Journalists’ Amid Debate Freakout

 President Joe Biden should agree to interviews with “serious journalists” as he faces health concerns following a fumbling debate performance that has rocked his re-election effort, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said on Tuesday.

Pelosi, an influential member of the Democratic Party, spoke to MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell as Biden’s team sought to reassure donors and supporters that the president remains a viable candidate against former President Donald Trump.

“I think my recommendation is for him to have some interviews with serious journalists, you among them. Serious journalists, no-holds-barred, any question is fair, and just sit there and be Joe,” Pelosi suggested.

“Show your values, show your knowledge, show your judgment, show your empathy for the American people,” Pelosi added. “I think that that would be a great thing for him. Not one, maybe two. A couple of those. I think that is essential.”

A couple hours after Pelosi made the comments, ABC News announcedthat Biden would sit for his “first” post-debate TV interview on Friday. Anchor and former Clinton aide George Stephanopoulos is expected to lead the conversation.

Many Democrats are panicking about the upcoming election and there is growing pressure on Biden to drop out, including from donors and at least one member of Congress, and give the party the chance to rally behind an alternative.

 

Post-debate polling from CBS News and YouGov found that 41% of Democratic registered voters and 72% of registered voters overall do not believe 81-year-old Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president.

Pelosi, who noted “this is not a normal election,” also said that she thinks it is a “legitimate question” to ask whether Biden’s poor debate performance was “an episode” or a “condition.” She added that Trump should face the same scrutiny.

“It’s going to be up to Joe Biden to do what he thinks is — there’s no more patriotic person in our country than this President of the United States. Nobody less than the former president. Joe Biden — I trust his judgment,” she said later.

Pelosi added, “I think that — again, I’m not a doctor. I can’t say what happens three, four years down the road. But I think that in my experience, which is what you asked me, I think that he will continue to be a great president.”