House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaned into a Joe Biden presidency on Friday, even saying the Democratic nominee’s mandate is bigger than that won by Democratic President John F. Kennedy in 1960.
Pelosi’s comments came as neither Biden nor President Trump have reached the necessary 270 Electoral College votes necessary to claim the presidency. Ballots are still being counted in Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, among other states that have not been called.
A Biden victory could range from the bare minimum 270 electoral votes to 306 — the number Trump won in 2016. Biden’s popular vote victory stands at over 3 million and is likely to grow. JFK, in his narrow 1960 victory over Vice President Richard Nixon, won the popular vote 49.72% to 49.55%. But Kennedy won a more comfortable Electoral College majority, 303 to Nixon’s 219.
If Biden does emerge as president, he would likely preside over a divided government. The Senate is likely to remain in Republican hands. In the House, Democrats come January will still have a majority but by a diminished margin.
“I see this as an opportunity. I think Joe Biden has a big mandate — a bigger mandate than John F. Kennedy when I was in school, and a bigger mandate than others,” Pelosi, 80, told reporters. “It’s pretty exciting for the country because he respects every single person in our country.”
Pelosi also dismissed Democratic House losses in Tuesday’s elections, which now number at least seven.
“We lost some battles, but we won the war. We have the gavel,” Pelosi said.
