ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl detailed a fiery phone call between former President Barack Obama and Rep. Nancy Pelosi after she broke an agreement the pair had by quickly endorsing former Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential race following Joe Biden’s withdrawal.
The ABC News correspondent appeared as a guest on “Morning Joe” Tuesday to share revelations he included in his forthcoming book “Retribution” about the 2024 presidential election, how it altered the course of history and how Harris’ nomination caused a schism between Obama and Pelosi.
“The two of them had been basically working to try to get Biden out of the race,” Karl explained. “And they had been adamant that when he gets out, we need to have some kind of a process, whether it be a mini flash primary … a meeting of delegates, something, … don’t just hand it over to Kamala Harris. They had a pact on this.”
He continued, saying that once Harris announced her run, everyone flooded the internet with their support.
“She gets out, and everyone endorses her within hours … [Josh] Shapiro, Gavin Newsom, they’re all endorsing her within hours,” Karl said.
He went on to say that while everyone jumped on the Harris train immediately, Pelosi at least waited until the next day, but by that point Pelosi saw that there was “nothing to hold the tide.”
“So she puts out the endorsement,” Karl explained, adding that’s when Pelosi got a phone call from Obama. Karl said he spoke with someone who heard the actual phone conversation between Obama and Pelosi.
“And what Obama says is basically, ‘Nancy, what was that all about?’ And clearly [he’s] irritated,” Karl said.
Karl mentioned that he’s discussed the contents of the phone call with “people close to” Obama, who told him that Obama was merely “joshing with her and giving her a hard time.”
However, he added that when he chatted with one of Pelosi’s close associates, they shared that he was actually “pissed off.”
“He was angry,” Karl said. “The clear message was, ‘Why did you do that?’”
As he closed up the conversation, saying even that Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was also taken aback by his wife’s move.
“I also report that, at right about the same time, Pelosi talks to her husband, Paul Pelosi, and Paul answers the phone by saying, ‘Kamala? You did what?’” Karl shared. “There were doubts from both of them, obviously, that she was the strongest candidate. But bigger than that, they thought that it would be [a] very bad look and not good for her campaign if she was just ordained.”
You can watch Karl’s full “Morning Joe” appearance in the video above.
