First lady Jill Biden expressed her disappointment with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a new interview with The Washington Post, in which she made rare public comments about the fractured relationship between her husband, Joe Biden, and Pelosi following the departure of the president from the 2024 race.
“We were friends before 50 years,” the first lady said in an interview with The Washington Post published on Wednesday. “It was disappointing.”
Pelosi was among top Democrats who expressed reservations in November about Joe Biden's ability to defeat Donald Trump after halting the president's debate in June. While Biden remained adamant he would stay in the race, Pelosi made waves in an interview when she opened the door to the possibility of him ending his campaign.
“It is up to the president to decide whether to run for office. We all encourage him to make that decision because time is running out,” Pelosi said on MSNBC in July.
In the wide-ranging interview, the first lady also publicly revealed her conversation with Trump when the two spoke at the reopening of Notre Dame 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 talk to Trump after 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 use of filth?”
The interview provides rare insight into how the first family is coping with the end of the Biden presidency, including the summer weeks when Democrats privately and publicly pushed for a step aside from the race for her husband.
“Let's just say I was disappointed with the way it unfolded,” Jill Biden said. “I learned a lot about human nature.”
Pelosi privately told President Biden in July that polls showed he could not beat Trump and that he could boost Democrats' chances of winning the House of Representatives in November if he stayed in the race, CNN previously reported. A source with direct knowledge at the time described Biden as “seething” at Pelosi.
After Trump's victory in November, Pelosi blamed Biden for the Democrats' loss. “If the president had come out earlier, there might have been other candidates in the race,” the California Democrat said during an interview with a New York Times podcast.
However, Pelosi praised Biden's leadership after his farewell speech Wednesday night, saying the nation is stronger for it and touting some of his achievements.
“President Joe Biden is one of the most influential presidents in American history. With the wisdom and outstanding leadership of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, our nation has been blessed with four historic years of progress, hope and unity for hardworking 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 four more years — even though he recently said that might not be the case.
“Sure,” she said. “I mean, today I think he has a full schedule. He started doing interviews and briefings early on, and it just keeps going.”
The first lady expressed concern that the president will not be recognized for some of his achievements, including investments in infrastructure. But she also acknowledged the complicated dynamics of her husband pardoning their son Hunter in the final weeks of his presidency.
“Joe really struggled 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 very clear and obvious that the Republicans were not going to stop.”
As her work in the White House drew to a close, the first lady said, “I hope women see me as a reflection of themselves. You know, a mother, a grandmother, a working woman, a sister, a friend.'
“I hope they will remember Joe as a strong, empathetic president with integrity and character,” she said. “I mean, character really is everything, right?”
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN's Rashard Rose contributed to this report.
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