Exclusive: Schumer and Pelosi say Biden should run in 2024 - CNN

CNN  — 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leaving Democratic enactment aft Republicans won the majority. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is remaining astatine the helm of a enclosure Democrats inactive control.

But some said President Joe Biden should tally for a 2nd word successful 2024 aft what they described arsenic an “excellent” archetypal 2 years successful office.

The Democratic legislature leaders’ comments came successful their archetypal associated sit-down interrogation with CNN’s Jamie Gangel implicit luncheon astatine Hunan Dynasty, a Chinese edifice connected Capitol Hill successful Washington, wherever the 2 person shared meals for years.

Pelosi said Biden, who astatine 80 is already the nation’s oldest president, has “done an fantabulous job” successful the White House.

“I anticipation that helium does question reelection. He’s a idiosyncratic with large imaginativeness for our country. He’s been progressive for a agelong clip truthful helium has large cognition of the issues, and the challenges we face,” she said.

Pelosi besides said Biden is “the astir empathetic president. He connects with people.”

“The vision, the knowledge, the strategical reasoning is each here,” she said, pointing to her head. “The empathy is from the heart. And I deliberation he’s a large president.”

Asked if Biden should tally again, Schumer said: “Yeah. He’s done an excellent, fantabulous job. And if helium runs, I’m going to enactment him each the way.”

The interrogation took spot little than 3 weeks earlier Pelosi steps down arsenic talker aft Republicans won a slim bulk successful November’s midterm elections. The California Democrat plans to stay successful the House, representing her San Francisco district, but is leaving her caucus’s enactment ranks.

Schumer and Pelosi reminisced successful the interrogation astir past battles with Donald Trump – and some predicted the erstwhile president volition suffer his 3rd bid for the White House.

“The American radical person gotten omniscient to him. Took a small while, but they did,” Schumer said.

The New York Democrat said Americans watched arsenic pro-Trump rioters attacked the US Capitol connected January 6, 2021, and said voters’ knowing of the “danger to democracy” is partially liable for Democrats’ stronger-than-expected showing successful this year’s midterms.

“I don’t deliberation we should speech astir him portion we’re eating,” Pelosi said of Trump.

The comments by the Democratic duo travel amid the anticipation of a Biden-Trump rematch successful 2024. Trump has already announced his 2024 candidacy, though helium is apt to look a competitory GOP primary; Biden has not made a ceremonial announcement but has agelong maintained helium volition question reelection, saying helium volition officially determine aboriginal adjacent year.

A caller CNN Poll conducted by SSRS recovered small appetite for a rematch betwixt the 2020 rivals. About 6 successful 10 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents accidental they privation their enactment to nominate idiosyncratic different than Trump successful 2024 (62%), portion a akin 59% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents accidental they’d similar to spot idiosyncratic different than Biden astatine the apical of their summons successful the adjacent statesmanlike election.

In the interview, Pelosi and Schumer elaborate their actions connected January 6, 2021, arsenic Trump-supporting insurrectionists attacked the Capitol.

Schumer said helium asked acting lawyer wide Jeffrey Rosen to enactment him connected the telephone with Trump – but Rosen would not bash so.

“He wouldn’t enactment him on,” Schumer said.

Asked if Trump would not instrumentality their call, Schumer said, “Right. Correct.”

Those calls came 3 days aft a high-stakes Oval Office gathering astatine which Trump considered replacing Rosen arsenic acting lawyer wide with loyalist Jeffrey Clark truthful that Clark could usage his powers to effort to overturn the 2020 election. In that meeting, Trump was told that if helium followed done connected that plan, apical Justice Department officials, including Rosen, would resign.

Pelosi contrasted Trump with the Republicans she’d worked with arsenic House Democratic leader, including erstwhile talker John Boehner. She described Trump arsenic insane.

“I deliberation there’s a request for an involution by his household oregon something. I don’t deliberation he’s connected the level now,” Pelosi said.

In the interview, the 2 described a adjacent narration of much than 3 decades – “almost similar member and sister,” Schumer said.

That narration involves regular dinners and talking connected the telephone 4 times a time – excessively many, Pelosi joked – each due to the fact that Schumer has a flip phone.

“If helium had a regular smartphone, we could trim the fig of conversations due to the fact that I could conscionable substance him,” she said.

The 2 discussed a heated Oval Office gathering with Trump successful December 2018, during which Trump said successful beforehand of quality cameras that helium would unopen down the authorities implicit lawmakers’ refusal to money his US-Mexico borderline wall.

“Chuck was masterful,” Pelosi said of the meeting, successful which Schumer prompted Trump to marque the declaration that helium would unopen the authorities down.

“She acceptable him up truthful I could spell successful for the kill,” Schumer said.

Schumer said Pelosi was capable to successfully navigate Trump’s presidency due to the fact that she treated the Republican similar a child.

“I archer radical Nancy instinctively knew however to grip Trump due to the fact that her archetypal 35-40 years of beingness she raised 5 children,” helium said.

Schumer said contempt Pelosi’s departure from House Democratic leadership, the 2 volition proceed to talk regularly.

“I volition beryllium surely calling,” helium said, “and question her proposal and a feeling of what’s going connected successful the House and what we tin get done.”