Overview
- Excerpts from Jonathan Karl’s new book Retribution say Barack Obama phoned Nancy Pelosi after she endorsed Kamala Harris less than 24 hours after Joe Biden exited the 2024 race.
- Karl cites a Pelosi confidant who summarized Obama’s message as, essentially, “What the f*** did you just do?”
- The book reports Obama and Pelosi had privately agreed to avoid immediate endorsements and allow a party process to choose a nominee rather than anoint Harris.
- Accounts of the call’s tone differ, with a source close to Obama calling it good-natured ribbing and a Pelosi ally saying he sounded genuinely irritated.
- Obama and Michelle Obama endorsed Harris five days later, as major Democrats quickly rallied to her, and one senior Biden adviser told Karl Obama doubted Harris’s ability to win.