Reporters Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes talked to Tara Palmeri, who used to work for Politico, about some of the things they learned while writing their book “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.”

In the days before Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, they talked about a secret disagreement between his team and Democratic Party members, which also included Pelosi.

Pelosi reportedly asked Biden not to take part in the famous debate against Trump. Biden’s poor, stumbling performance made other Democrats lose faith in him, which ultimately caused him to drop out of the race.

“Joe Biden wanted to debate really badly,” Allen said. “He wanted this fight. He relished it. You’ve heard Biden before say things like ‘I want to meet him out behind the schoolyard.’ He really wanted to debate.”

He continued, “Pelosi went to him and tried to play to his ego, saying, ‘You shouldn’t lower yourself, you shouldn’t lower the presidency to Donald Trump.’ Even in her mind, she would say to him, ‘Don’t roll around in the mud.’ Remember, she hates Donald Trump…She kind of lays it on thick with Biden and says, ‘This is going to lower you’ because she knows that might appeal to him.”

Allen said Pelosi most likely did not believe that Biden could manage a debate against Trump.

“If she thought Biden was going to beat Donald Trump in a debate, she would have been telling him to debate,” Allen said.

WATCH: