Jill Biden: Relationship with Pelosi 'on my mind a lot lately'
First lady Jill Biden said she has been thinking “a lot” about her decades-long relationship with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as she prepares to leave the White House.
In a lengthy profile published Wednesday in The Washington Post, Jill Biden said she was “disappointed” with Pelosi's role in pushing President Biden out of the presidential race.
“It’s been on my mind a lot lately,” she added. “We were friends for 50 years. … It was disappointing.”
In the wake of Biden's disastrous debate against Trump in July, Pelosi appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and said, “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run." Coming just after Biden issued a statement insisting he'd remain the Democratic candidate, her remarks were widely interpreted as a signal he should consider stepping away.
The Post reported Jill Biden talked to her close friend, Mary Doody, about the pressure the president was getting from Democrats at that moment.
“It was awful. It was mean. It was disrespectful,” Doody told the Post. “She talked a lot about that. I know I’m biased, but Joe Biden did not deserve that.”
Jill Biden, in the Post interview, also noted some recent memorable moments from the presidential transition.
She recalled a brief interaction in December when she found herself seated next to President-elect Trump at the reopening of the Notre Dame in Paris. Trump, according to the first lady, told her, “I had a good meeting with your husband in the Oval Office."
“Yes,” Jill recalled responding to Trump at the time, “because you’re both talkers.”
On why she spoke to Trump, who had been ridiculing her family for months, Jill Biden stressed the importance of respecting institutions.
“Joe and I respect our institutions, our traditions,” she said, “and it’s very important to me that they continue.”
“What would be the point of nastiness?” she added.
Jill Biden told the Post she extended an invitation to incoming first lady Melania Trump for tea at the White House, which has been a tradition for first ladies during presidential transitions, but the incoming first lady declined.
Biden said she instead sent Melania Trump a note congratulating her and offering to help in the transition back to the White House.
Jill Biden said she didn't hear back from the incoming first lady until the funeral for former President Carter, when Melania Trump thanked her.
Topics
-
Biden says "I have given my heart and my soul to our nation" ahead of farewell address
President Biden is addressing the nation from the Oval Office at 8 p.m.CBS News - 10h -
Nick Frost: ‘I’d like to say sorry to my mum. She was an alcoholic and I spent a lot of time hating her’
The actor and comedian on being a people-pleaser, the benefits of looking after himself, and his celebrity crush. Born in London, Nick Frost, 52, was working in a restaurant when he met Simon Pegg ...The Guardian - 4d -
My husband is unfaithful and wants an open relationship. Is it time for us to split? | Ask Annalisa Barbieri
We’ve been together a long time but now he says I either accept an open marriage or we get a divorce. The only way I cope is by turning to alcohol. We are gay men in our mid 40s, who have been ...The Guardian - 5d -
U.S. Declares Genocide in Sudan. Critics Say Biden Acted Too Late.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in months of fighting that has led to a famine.The Wall Street Journal - 6d -
I can’t get this poor old man and his trolley out of my mind | Adrian Chiles
He wouldn’t sit down, wouldn’t get off, couldn’t or wouldn’t tell us what he wanted. What could we do? . I was part of a miserable incident on a bus. This was one evening just before Christmas and ...The Guardian - 6d -
Tyra Mills: ‘My football videos got a lot of views … hate and bullying comes with it’
Former Tottenham Under-23s player has been open about her battles and is determined not to let the trolls win. Tyra Mills is in reflective mood. She may only be 24 years old but it feels as if she ...The Guardian - Jan. 8 -
‘I’ve always been very good with money’: Should I put my wife on the title of my home, investment property and my late father’s house?
“If I die and she sells the properties, would she have to pay a lot of capital-gains taxes, especially on the houses we don’t live in?”MarketWatch - Jan. 8 -
Jill Biden got most expensive gift from a foreign leader in 2023. Here's what it was
President Joe Biden and his family were given tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from foreign leaders in 2023, according to an annual accounting published by the State Department on Thursday, ...The Hill - Jan. 3 -
Jill Biden got the priciest gift from a foreign leader in 2023 — a $20,000 diamond
A spokesperson for the first lady said the diamond will be turned over to the National Archives after President Joe Biden leaves office on Jan. 20.NBC News - Jan. 3 -
Jill Biden received $20,000 diamond from Indian PM in 2023, among other gifts
Annual report details gifts given to first family by foreign leaders, most of which are transferred to National Archives. Joe Biden and his family were given tens of thousands of dollars in gifts ...The Guardian - Jan. 2
More from The Hill
-
Critics lambast RFK Jr.'s vax rhetoric
Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story Anti-RFK Jr. campaign highlights vaccine rhetoric A new report from a left-wing advocacy group highlights ...The Hill - 23m -
Critics lambast RFK Jr.'s vax rhetoric
Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story Anti-RFK Jr. campaign highlights vaccine rhetoric A new report from a left-wing advocacy group highlights ...The Hill - 23m -
The Memo: Trump, Biden battle over credit for Israel-Hamas deal
It took more than 15 months to get a ceasefire deal in Gaza that might last. But it took no time at all for a political battle to erupt in Washington over who deserves the credit for it. “The EPIC ...The Hill - 26m -
Ratcliffe edges closer to CIA confirmation with Democratic support: 5 takeaways
John Ratcliffe emerged largely unscathed from a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee that appeared to pave the way for him to serve as the next director of the Central Intelligence ...The Hill - 27m -
Trump’s DOT nominee says Boeing needs ‘tough love,’ Tesla probe will go on
President-elect Trump's nominee to head the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT), Sean Duffy, said during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that Boeing needs “tough love” to bounce back from a ...The Hill - 35m
More in Politics
-
Critics lambast RFK Jr.'s vax rhetoric
Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story Anti-RFK Jr. campaign highlights vaccine rhetoric A new report from a left-wing advocacy group highlights ...The Hill - 23m -
Critics lambast RFK Jr.'s vax rhetoric
Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story Anti-RFK Jr. campaign highlights vaccine rhetoric A new report from a left-wing advocacy group highlights ...The Hill - 23m -
The Memo: Trump, Biden battle over credit for Israel-Hamas deal
It took more than 15 months to get a ceasefire deal in Gaza that might last. But it took no time at all for a political battle to erupt in Washington over who deserves the credit for it. “The EPIC ...The Hill - 26m -
Ratcliffe edges closer to CIA confirmation with Democratic support: 5 takeaways
John Ratcliffe emerged largely unscathed from a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee that appeared to pave the way for him to serve as the next director of the Central Intelligence ...The Hill - 27m -
Trump’s DOT nominee says Boeing needs ‘tough love,’ Tesla probe will go on
President-elect Trump's nominee to head the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT), Sean Duffy, said during his confirmation hearing Wednesday that Boeing needs “tough love” to bounce back from a ...The Hill - 35m