Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and influential Democrat Nancy Pelosi stated that if President Joe Biden had withdrawn from the election earlier, his party could have performed better in the voting that took place last Tuesday.

Ms. Pelosi was cited by The New York Times stating that the president's premature exit may have motivated additional candidates to join the competition. She noted that there was an anticipation that the president's withdrawal would lead to an open primary. In an open primary, the party has the opportunity to secure its nomination through months of campaigning and debates. Typically, when an incumbent president runs for re-election, the party does not organize a primary, which is why, when Joe Biden announced his candidacy for a second term, his party did not consider any other candidates.

Four months prior to the election, following a disastrous debate with Donald Trump, Mr. Biden stepped aside, leading the party to swiftly agree on endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the candidate.

At that time, Joe Biden promptly endorsed Ms. Harris as the nominee. Nancy Pelosi also criticized this decision, although she acknowledged that organizing a primary at that moment was not an easy task.

Pelosi expressed her belief that Kamala Harris would have performed well in the primary and emerged with a strong position. She also suggested that this could have facilitated the emergence of other Democratic candidates who might have been viable nominees.