During an interview with The New York Times, Nancy Pelosi said other candidates could have participated in a more competitive election Democratic Party the presidential primary had the president Joe Biden “released early.”.

The former House speaker said Biden was quick to support the vice president. Kamala Harrisafter dropping out of the race in July, “made it nearly impossible to hold a primary at that time.”

Tuesday, Republican candidate Donald Trump has convincingly won the 2024 presidential election with at least 301 electoral college votes, according to the Associated Press (AP), 31 more than needed for victory.

AP also has Trump leading in Arizona, the only state he has yet to call, and on track to win the popular vote for the first time.

During an appearance on The interviewA New York Times podcast, Pelosi said, “If the president had stepped down earlier, there might have been other candidates in the race.”

“It was expected that if the president stepped down, the primaries would be open.”

The former speaker continued, “And like I said, Kamala may have done it, I think she would have done well and would have been stronger in the future. But we don’t know that. This didn’t happen. We live with what happened.

“And because the president immediately endorsed Kamala Harris, it really made it almost impossible to hold a primary at that time. If it had happened much earlier, it would have been different.”

Biden announced he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race on July 21 and almost immediately endorsed Harris as the Democratic nominee. This follows intense pressure from within his own party following his much-criticized performance in a debate with Trump on June 27 which renewed concerns about the 81-year-old’s age and cognitive state.

News week contacted Pelosi and the White House for comment via email Saturday outside of normal business hours.

Wednesday, Pelosi reacted to Trump’s victory in a post on X, formerly Twitterin which she said: “We all pray for America’s success under the next administration. The peaceful transfer of power is the cornerstone of our democracy. After every election, we all have a responsibility to come together and find common ground.”

Pelosi also attended Harris’ concession speech that day at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where Fox News described his appearance as “gloomy and teary-eyed.”

On Friday, Rep. Pat Ryan, a New York Democrat, suggested Biden should have withdrew from the competition early during an interview with CNNIt’s Jake Tapper.

He said: “I think there was a real unique opportunity for President Biden to have this Washingtonian moment and show that he wasn’t there for himself, he was there to put, really, the country and the party above itself.

“And if he had done what he said during the campaign and talked about being a bridge to this new generation…I think if the president had left room for that, we might have- may have had a different result.

Political scientist and analyst Steven Schier said previously News week that Biden could have outperformed Harris in Pennsylvania, one of the key states she lost.

He said: “Biden’s impeachment will remain a great source of controversy within the Democratic Party.

“It is clear that Biden, even with his cognitive disabilities, would have performed better than Harris in states like Pennsylvania.”