In his first TV interview since withdrawing from the election, U.S. President Joe Biden revealed that he acted under pressure from fellow Democrats who were concerned about his impact on their reelection prospects.
He acknowledged that his age and mental capabilities had become focal points in the campaign, leading to his decision to step down. Biden, who is 81, has remained largely out of the public eye since ending his second-term bid on July 21, a move triggered by a disappointing debate performance against Donald Trump that sparked a growing revolt among Democrats.
In the brief interview, recorded in the White House last week and aired on Sunday, the president appeared frail yet coherent, reiterating that while he failed in the debate, he has “no serious problem” with his health.
“A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the (election) races,” he explained.
“I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic you’d be interviewing me about,” he continued.
He singled out former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a party heavyweight whose refusal to explicitly back his campaign was seen by many as pivotal.
“You’d be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say (something)… I thought it’d be a real distraction,” Biden said.
“A critical issue for me still is — not a joke — maintaining this democracy.
“I have an obligation to the country to do what is the most important thing we can do, and that is — we must, we must, we must defeat Trump.”
Biden said he was proud of his record on jobs, investment and Covid recovery — and vowed to campaign hard for Vice President Kamala Harris, who has replaced him on the ballot.
“I’m going to do whatever Kamala thinks I can do to help most,” he said.
Democrats’ hopes of winning have soared since Biden’s withdrawal, as Harris enjoys a surge in support that has left Trump and the Republicans struggling.
The outgoing president said he had expected to serve only one term when he won in 2020, but that he had been persuaded to push for a second.
“I thought of myself as being a transition president — I can’t even say how old I am. It’s hard for me to get it out of my mouth — but things got moving so quickly, it didn’t happen,” he told CBS’s Robert Costa.
As Harris hosts large rallies in key swing states, Trump’s light campaign schedule has faced criticism, with his running mate, J.D. Vance, taking the lead on Sunday morning political talk shows. Vance appeared on CNN, ABC, and CBS, addressing questions about child care, asylum seekers, and abortion. In a tense moment with CBS’s Margaret Brennan, Vance expressed frustration, saying she had posed “six questions about abortion.”
“I’m still trying to get a clear answer,” Brennan retorted.
He also claimed that Harris was the one “calling the shots” in the Biden administration.
“If she’s not calling the shots, Dana, who is?” he told CNN’s Dana Bash.
Biden in his CBS interview warned that Trump was “a genuine danger to American security.”
“Mark my words, if he wins… watch what happens,” he said. “He’s a genuine danger to American security.
“Look, we’re at an inflection point in world history… and democracy is the key.”
He added that he was “not confident at all” of a peaceful transfer of power if Trump loses a second time.
