In a new interview, President Biden gave his longest explanation yet for why he chose not to seek reelection, citing concerns that it could hurt other Democrats running in November.
“The polls were predicting a close race, and it would have been close all the way to the end,” Biden said on CBS Sunday Morning.
“But many of my Democratic colleagues in the House and the Senate thought that I would hurt them in the campaign,” Biden continued, “and were concerned that if I continued the campaign, that it would become a talking point. I wondered why Nancy Pelosi said that, why she did that, and, number one, I thought it would be a real distraction.”
Biden said another element was “preserving our democracy,” and argued that defeating former President Trump was the most important thing.
The president announced on July 21 that he would not seek reelection amid pressure from fellow Democrats to step aside following his disastrous debate performance with former President Trump.
Dozens of Democrats have questioned whether Biden can beat Trump in November and called on him to hand the baton to another candidate.
Pelosi, who served under Biden for decades, has denied in multiple interviews in recent days that she called the president directly to air her concerns, but she has been critical of Biden’s politicking and said she acted as a listener for other lawmakers.
Polls show Biden trailing Trump nationally, with battleground states he won in 2020 such as Nevada, Arizona and Georgia looking increasingly out of reach, while must-win states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin are showing slim margins.
Biden endorsed Vice President Harris when he withdrew from the Democratic nomination, and has quickly solidified support within his party and enthused voters, holding rallies with thousands of people in Detroit, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Las Vegas this week.
Polls show Harris pulling away from Trump with the race tight both nationally and in battleground states.
