White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Wednesday walked back his prediction that Democrats could lose their House majority, saying he believed the party would “do very well” in the November midterm elections.
Gibbs was asked to respond to criticism by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) over his handicapping of House races on “Meet the Press” Sunday.
Pelosi’s staff reportedly contacted the White House following Gibbs’ appearance on the show. Her aides and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee operatives were told Gibbs would clarify his prediction at Monday’s White House press briefing, but instead, Gibbs said he was merely stating “the obvious,” FOXNews.com reported.
On Tuesday, Pelosi reportedly blasted the press secretary at a closed-door House Democratic caucus meeting saying, “How could he know what’s going on in our districts?”
At the daily press briefing Wednesday, Gibbs said he had not spoken with Pelosi since he made the comments, but called his relationship with her “cordial” and said, “Of course the opinion of the Speaker of the House matters to me.”
He also clarified his prediction for November, saying, “We are gonna do very well, and as I have said throughout this, I think we will retain the House and the Senate.”