President Joe Biden told ABC News' “The View” he's still in complete denial about why he was dropped from the presidential race, despite touting his poll numbers and his chances of beating former President Donald Trump.
Biden told “The View” he was happy with his decision to withdraw from the presidential race, but told hosts on Wednesday there was no clamor within the Democratic Party to remove him as a candidate. The president said he would have beaten Trump if he had continued in the race, adding that he is closing in on the former president in the polls.
“There's been a perception that maybe you were coerced, and some have blamed Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who you have a long relationship with and have accomplished a lot together. Did you feel coerced? And what is your relationship with Speaker Pelosi now?” Alyssa Farah asked Biden.
“We have a good relationship. Look, I've never totally bought the assertion that there was overwhelming resistance to me running again. I didn't feel that way. The polls said otherwise for Biden, but the fact is, my polling has always put me within reach of beating this guy,” the president said.
“What I did…I don't think it made sense. Some people wanted me to step down and be given a chance to move on. I understand that, that's human nature. But that's not why I stepped down. I stepped down because I started thinking about it…It's hard to think about, I know you're only 30,” the president continued, leaning toward Farah, “but it's hard to think about, it's hard to even say how old you are.”
After Biden joked about his age, Farah went on to ask the president if he thought he would have won if he had stayed in the race.
“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. “I was confident I could beat Trump.”
Biden finally withdrew from the presidential race via tweet on July 21 after a disastrous debate performance filled with stumbles and confusion sent Democrats into panic and calling for a new candidate. In another tweet, Biden endorsed Harris as his running mate, and Harris launched her presidential campaign shortly thereafter.
Polls had repeatedly shown Biden trailing far behind Trump in key battleground states and nationwide, but the final straw appeared to be a flip-flop from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who reportedly privately confronted Biden about his declining approval ratings and his chances of beating Trump. CNNSchumer later told Biden privately that a decision to continue the campaign could cost Democrats in lower-ranked races, according to The Washington Post. (Related article: Biden's Democratic approval rating plummets 11 points to lowest during his presidency)
The president spoke of the need for “unity” in his Oval Office speech and did not address any serious reasons for dropping out of the race, but Democrats were primarily concerned about his fitness to serve as president.
“The past few weeks have made it clear to me that I need to unite my party in this important effort. I believe that my record as President, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all qualify for a second term, but I cannot let anything get in the way of protecting our democracy, including personal ambition. So I have decided that the best way to move forward is to pass the baton to a new generation. That is the best way to unite our country,” Biden said in a speech from the Oval Office.
The president's appearance on “The View” was mainly about his decision to drop out of the race and the final months of his presidency, with the network playing archival footage of Biden during commercial breaks.
“How have the last two months been for you and are you happy with your decision?” Sara Haines asked the president.
“I am happy with my decision. When I ran last term, I thought of myself as a transitional president. Now as we transition to a new generation of leadership, I may only look 40, but I'm 180. I've lived my whole life,” the president began.
“But what happened was we were having such great success and were doing things that people didn't think we could do, and I found myself spending more time than usual trying to pass on that baton.”
