Joe Biden explains the rationale behind his decision to withdraw from the presidential race | US News
US President Joe Biden has shared that he exited the White House race because fellow Democrats believed his candidacy would harm their chances of being re-elected.
The 81-year-old ended his campaign in July following concerns about his age and ability to serve for another four years.
Worries escalated among Democrats after a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump in June and a series of prominent gaffes.
Prominent Democrats, such as former US President Barack Obama, voiced their concerns about his candidacy. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi, a close friend and ally of Mr Biden, encouraged him to step down.
When asked on CBS Sunday Morning why he decided to leave the race, Mr Biden explained: “Look, our polls showed that it was a tight race that could have gone either way. However, many of my Democratic colleagues in Congress thought I would negatively impact their races.
“I was worried that if I continued in the race, that would be the focus of interviews – ‘Why did Nancy Pelosi say [this]? Why did someone [say this]?’.”
“And I thought it would be a major distraction.”
Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office about his decision to withdraw from the race. Pic: Reuters
Mr Biden also referred to himself as a “transition president” during his 2020 run, saying: “I can’t even say how old I am. It’s hard for me to get out of my mouth.”
The US president stressed that the “key issue” for him is “preserving this democracy”.
He continued: “While being president is a great honor, I believe I have a duty to the country to do the most important thing possible, which is – we must, we must, we must defeat Trump.”
In his interview with CBS’ chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa, Mr Biden also expressed his lack of confidence in a peaceful transfer of power if Mr Trump loses the election.
This concern arose after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building on 6 January 2021 in an attempt to keep him in power following his defeat to Mr Biden two months earlier.
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Harris and Walz make appearance
Upon exiting the race, the US president promptly endorsed vice president Kamala Harris and urged Democrats to support her campaign.
Ms Harris has selected Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her vice presidential running mate, and the two made their public debut at a rally in Philadelphia this week.
Meanwhile, the campaign for GOP candidate Mr Trump claims it was hacked by Iran in June.
Politico reported receiving emails in July from an anonymous source containing authentic documents from inside Mr Trump’s campaign, including a report detailing running mate JD Vance’s “potential vulnerabilities”.
“These documents were illegally obtained from foreign entities hostile to the US, with the intent to interfere in the 2024 election and disrupt our democratic process,” stated Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung.
