President Biden said conversations with other Democrats led to his decision to drop out of the presidential race.
In his first interview since the historic decision, Biden explained his rationale on “CBS Sunday Morning,” saying he wanted to make sure Donald Trump lost the 2024 presidential election.
“A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was gonna hurt them in the races,” he said. “Although it’s a great honor to be President, I think I have an obligation to the country to do the most important thing and that is we must, we must, we must defeat Trump.”
Before he dropped out, Biden was trailing Trump in national polls. Following his decision to leave, his presumed replacement as nominee, Kamala Harris, has gained ground in the same polls.
But for weeks, despite those numbers, Biden had insisted on staying in the race. At one point, he said he would only drop out if “the Lord Almighty” came down and told him to.
However, between the disastrous June 27 debate — which Biden says he was sick for — and his July 21 decision to leave the race, several Democrats joined the chorus calling on Biden to leave the race.
“I was concerned, if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic,” he said Sunday. “I thought it would be a real distraction.”
Biden said he would join Harris and her vice presidential choice, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on the campaign trail. He called Walz “my kinda guy.”
During the interview, Biden emphasized his belief Trump is a danger to American democracy. He said he did not believe there would be a peaceful transition of power if Trump lost the election, similar to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol after Biden defeated Trump in 2020.
“If Trump loses, I’m not confident at all. He means the stuff he says; we don’t take him seriously. He means it,” the president said. “All the stuff about, ‘If we lose, it’ll be a bloodbath.’”