Pelosi Tells Biden She Is Pessimistic About His Re-election Chances

Representative Nancy Pelosi has told President Biden and House Democratic colleagues in recent days that she is pessimistic about his chances of beating Donald J. Trump as the highest levels of the party leadership intensify pressure on Mr. Biden to reconsider his candidacy.

Ms. Pelosi, according to those who have talked with her, conveyed her sentiments in phone calls with the president and with alarmed colleagues who have reached out to her for guidance on what to do. The former speaker is intimately familiar with the minutiae of campaigns from her years following House races district by district, and she has been marshaling her knowledge of the political map, polling data and fund-raising information to press her case with Mr. Biden.

One ally said that Ms. Pelosi told Mr. Biden in a recent call that she had seen polling data suggesting that he could not win, and the president pushed back, saying he had polls showing otherwise.

Ms. Pelosi challenged him on that.

“Put Donilon on the phone,” Ms. Pelosi asked the president, referring to Mike Donilon, the president’s longtime aide, according to people familiar with the exchange, which was reported earlier by CNN. “Show me what polls.”

Aides to Ms. Pelosi, a prodigious fund-raiser and a firm believer in the power of money in campaigns, have also sought detailed fund-raising information from the Biden campaign in recent days to help the former speaker assess the status of the campaign, according to two people familiar with the request.

“She does not think he can win,” said one Pelosi confidant who asked not to be identified. People interviewed for this article spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.